President Trump Participates in a Signing Ceremony with the Presidents of Rwanda and Congo

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the President of the United States, the President of the Republic of Rwanda, and the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Well, thank you very much. Wow, this is a nice building, I have to tell you. So this is a special occasion for a lot of reasons, but number one is it's our first occasion in this building using it for peace, and it's all about peace, and it's a great honor. And, Marco, you've done a fantastic job in getting it ready, but it's a spectacular building and we all appreciate it. And very importantly, we're settling a war that's been going on for decades with millions and millions of people killed. And these two gentlemen spent a lot of time backstage talking to each other and over at the Oval Office. We were at the Oval Office together. It was beautiful. And I think it's just a very important day, and we have other leaders from other countries, and you said such beautiful things. I'd love to have you come up. We'll finish up and then I'd love to have you come up. And if you can issue the words that you just issued backstage. This usually doesn't work. You know, it usually never happens. They said, oh, they said it much better before, but you will probably do better up here. But I'd love to have you say how you felt because it is an amazing day.

We.

Great day for Africa, Great day for the world and for these two countries. And they're. They have so much to be proud of. And I want to thank the leaders. I want to thank you very much. It means maybe more because we are here together for the first time ever in this building. Brand new, beautiful building. I can't. I don't want to tell you how much it costs, because I hear it's a lot. Okay. They don't build inexpensively here, but I just want to thank you very much. So please sit down, everybody. I want to thank everybody for being here. It's a momentous occasion. It's truly incredible setting. It's very few places I've seen like this. In this holy season, we prepare to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace. We have come to the US Institute of Peace to sign a historic agreement that will end one of the longest running conflicts anywhere in the world. With far more than 10 million people killed. Today, we commit to stopping decades of violence and bloodshed and to begin a new era of harmony and cooperation between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. I want to thank the two courageous leaders. They are courageous leaders. They really are courageous leaders, great people. President Jsekite of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and President Kagame of Rwanda. They are amazing people. And they had stories to tell me that were incredible. Really fascinating in so many different ways. Sad and beautiful. Both sad and beautiful. And today makes them beautiful. I've just held really fantastic meetings with both men and representatives of other countries where we discussed the importance of upholding this new agreement. Very detailed, powerful agreement. I also want to thank several foreign guests and dignitaries in attendance to celebrate this magnificent event, including the president of Angola. Please, would you stand? And so great to see you. Thank you. The president of Burundi. Thank you very much. Great to see you again. The president of Kenya. We have the Olympics here. You know, they do very well in the Olympics. Those runners. I don't know what the heck you do with those runners, but they are very good. I've been watching them for a long time. So we have the Olympics coming to the United States. You know that. Thank you very much. And you'll come as our guest. Thank you. And the president of the Council of Ministers of Togo. Thank you. Thank you very much. The vice president of the Uganda. Thank you. It's such a beautiful color. All these guys are wearing these dark suits. You just stand out for a lot of reasons. You're beautiful. The foreign ministers of Qatar. Thank you. Thank you very much. Say hello to my friend, a great man. And the United Arab Emirates. Thank you. Thank you. My regards. Right. And the chairman of the African Union Commission, who's done a fantastic job. And thank you for all your help. We appreciate all your help. Special group of people. A very special thanks as well to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Marco, please stand. Thank you. And thank you for putting a certain name in that building. Came. I said, boy, that is beautiful. That blew up last night. They said, that's a great honor. It really is. On this building. It's a great honor. Thank you very much. I assume you had a lot to do with that. Just a little better, yeah. Thank you. Appreciate it. And senior advisor for Africa, Mossad Boulos, who's been fantastic. Thank you. Mossad. All of these people, every one of them, were indispensable in forging this agreement. Let me also recognize Senators Mike Rounds and Lindsey Graham. Lindsey. Thank you, Mike. Wherever you may be. Thank you. Thank you, Mike. Representatives Ronny Jackson. Where's Ronnie? Ronnie is a great guy. He won his race in Texas by 48 points. Right, Ronnie? So I don't have to ask if he's in any. I don't Even have to endorse him anymore. It doesn't matter. Save the paper, right? Great job. Chris Smith. Chris. Thank you, Chris. Great. Good job. Trent Kelly. Trent, thank you very much. Thank you. And the acting president of the Institute for Peace, Darren Beatty. Thank you, Darren, very much. Thank you very much, Darren. For more than 30 years, one of the worst conflicts on earth has been raging in eastern Congo. Millions and millions of people have been tragically killed, went on forever, and countless more have been displaced from their homes. Families have been destroyed. It's been a disaster. Many administrations have tried, but probably not too hard, knowing who preceded me. But they tried. It said they've tried, but we tried harder to end this conflict. But they've accomplished, obviously, they accomplished very little because the killing went on at levels that just got worse and worse. And today we're succeeding where so many others have failed. And this has become the eighth war that we've ended in less than one year. Such an exciting thing to do. This has been a really. Because we're talking about 30 years of fighting. 30 years, much more than 10 million lives. Last June, thanks to the efforts of Secretary Rubio and Mr. Boulos, Rwanda and the DRC reached a landmark agreement to move toward peace. They started the process. I met with some of their great representatives who are here also, and we started a great process. The compact we're signing today, which will be known as the Washington Accords, everybody sort of liked that name, formalizes the terms agreed to in June, including a permanent ceasefire, the disarmament of non state forces, provisions for refugees to return to their homes, and justice and accountability for those who have committed illegal atrocities. Very importantly, this agreement also creates a new framework for economic prosperity. There's tremendous wealth in those. And that beautiful earth. It's beautiful earth, but it was stained badly with blood, tremendous amounts of blood. But in the region, that will support a lasting peace. And the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda have agreed to more closely integrate their economies with each other rather than fighting. And they'll be doing that. And these two gentlemen are very smart and I think they liked each other a lot. I spent time with them. I think they like to. Some people may be surprised. I really do. I think they've spent a lot of time killing each other, and now they're going to spend a lot of time hugging, holding hands and taking advantage of the United States of America economically, like every other country does. So they're going to do very well. But they do have some valuable, some very valuable things. They're going to have a lot of money and a lot of success. And I think they're going to get along really well. So I hope so. Thank you very much. Look at them. Look at the way they love each other. Thank you. So I have a lot of confidence in both leaders. We'll keep these commitments. I know they're going to keep them and follow through on the agreement and create a much brighter future for the people of their countries and their heroes within their countries. Because of today, a lot of this is a big story and so much is being written and said. All of the newscasts have it at the top of the list, and they are heroes, and we want to keep it that way. Today, the United States is also signing our own bilateral agreements with the Congo and Rwanda that will unlock new opportunities for the United States to access critical minerals and provide economic benefits for everybody. And we'll be involved. We're sending some of our biggest and greatest companies over to the two countries, and we're going to take out some of the rare earth and take out some of the assets and pay, and everybody is going to make a lot of money. These are just two of the many new agreements related to mineral supplies that my administration has achieved this year, including with Australia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, South Korea, and many other countries. With all of these agreements, we're forging new economic security partnerships that protect the interests of America and our friends and partners. And a core feature of my administration's national security strategy, a big part of which is the tariffs. We're taking in trillions of dollars in tariffs. Nobody's ever seen anything like it. And it's given us really great national security. We'll be paying down debt. We'll be making distributions to people. And we're really. We're really doing a job. It's amazing. I was with a gentleman, the future king of Saudi Arabia. And you've heard me say this a couple of times, but two months ago when I was over there, he said, and actually Qatar is represented today and you UAE is represented. And your leaders said the exact same thing, different words, but the exact same thing, that one year ago they thought our country was dead. And now our country is the hottest country anywhere in the world. We're the hottest country anywhere in the world. Nobody has ever seen anything like it. We have over $18 trillion. This is just in 10 months pledged or being invested or pledged to be invested in the United States. Think of that. 18 trillion. The highest amount we've ever had is one and a half. Under the Biden administration. They did much less than one in four years. Think of that. So they did less than $1 trillion in four years. We have $18 trillion in 10 months. It's going to be much more than that, too. No other country in history has ever been close, no matter what country you pick. So I want to thank you again, everybody, for your great vision. And I want to thank the people, especially the people that we named. Some of the others that unfortunately we didn't name, just couldn't do that. But for your vision and for your courage, because it's made it possible to begin healing old wounds and transcending past differences and creating a future where every child of God can live in dignity, prosperity and peace. And these are two very good men, and they're two very, potentially very strong countries. I'd like to now invite President Kagume to come up and say a few words. It's Rwanda. And then, if I may, the president of drc, who really is doing a great job. These are two men that are doing a great job. And again, they are so respected because of what they're doing today and the mission that they've really, I think, accomplished. And we'll see how it all works out. But I think it's going to work out really great. They want to get onto other ways of living for their people and their great leaders. Thank you very much. Please, Mr. President.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Excellency, Donald Trump, President of the United States of America. Excellencies, heads of state and government, and former heads of state, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I want to begin with some words of thanks first to my fellow heads of state and government from Africa. Your presence here confirms that these efforts enjoy the broad support necessary to succeed. I also thank Minister of State Kulaife, representing His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad of Qatar. The role of Qatar has been absolutely central in getting us to this point. But of course, the biggest vote of thanks goes to President Donald Trump. No one was asking President Trump. Trump to take up this task. Our region is far from the headlines. But when the president saw the opportunity to contribute to peace, he immediately took it. This conflict has lasted for 30 years. We have seen countless mediations and efforts, but none has succeeded in resolving the underlying issues. President Trump introduced a new and effective dynamism that created the space for breakthroughs. His approach is even handed. Never taking sides, he orients us toward the future, not the past, emphasizing that the dividend of peace is prosperity and investment, including from the United States. More importantly, President Trump's approach is PRAGMATIC the process has not become an end in itself. All of these elements filter down to his dedicated team. And here I want to single out Secretary Rubio and Massad Boulos for special appreciation. Would not be here today without their efforts. And as a result, we have the clearest and most viable path forward that we have ever had. These accords provide everything needed to end this conflict once and for all. If this agreement falters and things do not work out as they are supposed to, the responsibility will not lie with President Trump, but with ourselves. It's up to us in Africa working with our partners to consolidate and expand this peace. There will be ups and downs on the road ahead. There is no doubt about it. Rwanda Aino will not be found wanting. I can assure you of that. Our only objective is and has always been for our country to be safe and secure. After having endured so much tragedy, we now only want to look forward in confident expectation of a prosperous and stable future. Mr. President, Excellencies, I thank you for your kind attention.

Mr. The president of the United States, Donald Trump. Ladies and gentlemen, dear members of the delegations, distinguished guests, as we have just placed our signatures at the bottom of the joint declaration enshrining the Washington Agreements for Peace and Prosperity, I do feel on behalf of the people of Congo, a deep gratitude and clear hope. First of all, I would like to express quite solemnly, our deep thanks to the President of the United states of America, Mr. Donald Trump. I would like to thank his administration and also wish to thank the American people for the critical role that they played as doing for the rapprochement, the closening between the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Rwanda. To these thanks, I also bring in all of our regional partners and our international partners who, thanks to their commitment and engagement, have consistently made this critical moment possible in the road to peace. First and foremost, we have Sheikh Yanim Bin Ah Adani. We have President Jo Manuel Laurence Goncalves, who is the President of Angola and the acting President of the African Union. And we also have the former President of the Republic of Kenya, my brother, Ruru Kenyatta, who I can see here in the room these two great Africans who are at the beginning, who started the Luanda and the Nairobi processes and beyond them. I wish to thank also all of the African leaders who contributed to, helped us in this struggle, and I do hope that we have, yes, reached the end. The Washington Agreements are not yet another document. These represent a turning point. They bring together under a coherent architecture, a declaration of principles of a peace Agreement and also the regional economic integration framework to provide to the peoples of the region a new perspective, a new outlook, namely, to finally overcome the cycle of violence, of forced displacement, of mistrust, defiance, in order to begin a new era of friendship, cooperation and prosperity, all shared together. For those involved, the Democratic Republic of Congo takes this solemn commitment to implement with complete sincerity all of our obligations that stem from this agreement. We will do this with seriousness, with rigorousness, and also the constant care for peace and the security of our populations, for the unity and the integrity of our territory. We do hope that, thanks with the same seriousness, that the Republic of Rwanda will also respect fully the letter and the spirit of the commitments made here in Washington. We are reaching out for a peaceful cooperation based on mutual respect, non interference and the joint struggle against the armed groups. The end of all support to negative forces and the beginning of fair prosperity on behalf of our two populations. I do believe this day is the beginning of a new path. A demanding path, yes, indeed, quite difficult. But this is a path where peace will not just be a wish and aspiration, but a turning point. The Democratic Republic of Congo will fully play its part with dignity, with consciousness and consistency, and with the support of our partners. We will remain watchful, vigilant, but not pessimistic. We'll be clear eyed, but resolutely optimistic. These Washington agreements for peace and prosperity must be for our peoples a symbol of an irreversible commitment to. To turn the page of confrontations and to open a new era of cooperation and sustainable peace throughout the region. Thank you.

So if I might, my four new friends, a couple of cases. Not that new. Could you come up, please? Do you mind? Please. They represent so many and so well. So I just want to thank you very much.

Good.

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Your Excellency, the US President. Dear President. President Trump. Dear guests and dear dignitaries present here and press members. I'd like to highlight the importance of this ceremony taking place in Washington D.C. because this has come to put an end to a war that has been there for more than three decades. Because it's not just exactly three decades, but it's more than 30 years. And this is a conflict that has been there between two neighboring countries which have Been fighting for many years with consequences on the people's countries, economies and so forth. And these consequences also were felt in the Great Lakes region. Great Lakes region, which is a very rich region in Africa, rich in terms of water resources, arable lands and forests, as well as mineral resources which are important for the development of our region. So it's important that we've reached this point where the agreement has been signed peace deal which will benefit immensely the whole region and will unleash the opportunities for the development of our continent and as well as to helping the whole world in terms of fighting against food crisis and energy crisis, which the whole world is going through now. Now we believe that the Great Lakes region will have to play a great role in providing resources to the international community. And of course, solving this conflict will also help solve other crises, not only in the continent as we know, but worldwide. For example, the Great Inga Hydro project in Congo is important. It can help to electrify the continent and consequently help in terms of developing agriculture and providing agriculture, arable lands and abundant resources that we have that can be used. We know that Africa possesses a lot of other resources such as rainfalls which are important for agriculture. So nothing has, I mean nothing would justify this war. But eventually the most important thing that it has come to war. We sought as Africans to do our part. When I say Africans, I mentioned countries such as Angola, Kenya and other African countries. But unfortunately we couldn't make it. But we now want to thank President Donald Trump for having helped to reach this important milestone. We believe once again we have to thank him for what he has done. And what comes next now is to appeal to the two parties, that is the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Rwanda, to implement successfully this agreement for the benefit of their countries, their people, and including our continent of Africa. Thank you very much.

Your excellency, President.

Trump.

Fellow heads of state, today's signing of the Washington Peace Accord for Eastern Sears DRC is not merely a monumental diplomatic milestone. It is a decisive act to end a devastating conflict that has scarred the region for decades. Mr. President, what you have achieved is not only transformative, it is consequential and historic. This conflict has destroyed livelihoods, destabilized our region and threatened the future of the entire Great Lakes African continent. Today's achievement culminates in a relentless regional effort anchored by the foundational work of the East African Community and sadc. And today, this Washington process, the coordinated Nairobi, Luanda and Washington processes created the essential pathway that brings us to this pivotal Moment, we would like to extend our gratitude to President Shizakedi and President Kagame for their leadership during this process. Reaching this point was made possible by the unparalleled, consequential, convening power of the United States and President Trump's resolute and focused commitment to global peace. Your clarity, Mr. President, of purpose and ability to rally stakeholders together has brought us to this point. We therefore extend our profound gratitude to President Trump whose bold leadership has been instrumental in delivering this breakthrough. Our presence here, Mr. President, as regional leaders, is a testament of our collective resolve. We will spare no effort to ensure this agreement is fully realized. Mobilizing every resource and partner to secure peace and unlock the region's immense economic promise. The protracted conflict on our continent continues to hold back Africa. Our current 3% share of global trade is stark evidence of how far this war has held us back. A peaceful eastern DRC can unlock one of Africa's greatest economic opportunities. Our vast resources, the young talent that we have connected through our regional infrastructure and Africa Continental Free Trade Area can ignite an unprecedented transformation. A peaceful and integrated Great Lakes region will accelerate innovation. Predictable government reduces risk, harmonized regulation lowers costs and open borders increase trademark attracting value added industries to our continent. For too long Africa has exported raw materials only to import refined products at great cost. Our regional economic integration framework, Mr. President, that you have spoken to here will build value chains in minerals manufacturing and agrippa processing, creating jobs and creating wealth. The Great Lakes region stands at the threshold of a new era. Peace will open doors, integration will guide us and private sector dynamism will propel us forward. In conclusion, as we celebrate progress in the drc, we must not look away from other crises. I want to ask you respectfully, Mr. President, that in your quest for global peace, to support efforts to resolve the humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan. I thank you.

Excellence.

Heads of state and government, dear delegations, it is with great joy that I speak today before you in order to express my joy. There is a time for everything. There's a time for destruction and there's a time to build. There's a time for despair and there's a time for hope. Today we are experiencing a great day. We are looking forward to this agreement which will give back hope to the peoples of Congo and of the sub region. I would like to congratulate everybody involved who made it this great day possible. We beg, we urge God to continue to guide us, to guide the steps of all people of goodwill who will become involved for its implementation. Committing oneself is something but implementing is something else, which is why I call upon all of you, provide your contribution to actually implement this accord. As far as we are concerned.

This.

Agreement on regional economic integration, well, Burundi and the DRC already represent an economic community of the countries of the Great Lakes region. Burundi has a major role to play in order to indeed implement these existing cooperation agreements between the three states. We hope that together we'll be able to achieve a long lasting peace and stability throughout the region. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much. And I just want to introduce a friend of mine who I just noticed in the audience. He's in charge of a very small sport called here soccer over their football. So nobody knows really what to call it. Johnny, thank you very much. The head of FIFA is here and I can report to you that we have sold more tickets than any country anywhere in the world at this stage of the game. And I think we probably broke all records before you even get close. And you have a big event on Friday at the Trump Kennedy Center. Oh, excuse me. At the Kennedy Center. Pardon me. Such a terrible mistake, Marco. At the Kennedy Center. And I look forward to seeing you there, but I want to congratulate you. No, it's really taken the world by storm. You've never, you've never done anything like what's happening in terms of ticket sales. I make a lot of enemies telling people, I'm sorry, I can't get you tickets, I just can't do it. But congratulations, you've done a fantastic job. A great leader in sports and a great gentleman. Thank you very much, Johnny. Thank you. And now we're going to sign a very important agreement. Thank you. Okay, Thank you very much. Questions for Africa? One question.

Go ahead.

Thank you.

I know you and you're very friendly, so I'll take. Otherwise I wouldn't take it. Go ahead.

Thank you.

Mr. President. We are witnessing historic moment for Africa. My question to you is when we will see the withdrawal of his troop from DRC and when we will see the.

We need to be got on.

Even if even now we have witness.

This historical peace deal. But people are still killing the island because the truth continue there.

When.

Because this needs to be real.

The truth needs to redraw the ice.

When I think you're going to see very quick and very quickly. I think you're going to see things happen. This is something that was not doable according to a lot of people. And, and not only is it doable, I think it's going to be a great miracle. These two gentlemen are leaders. They're great leaders, and they're going to prove that in the coming months and years. And I think you're going to see very immediate results. I have confidence that that's what's going to happen. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you.

Thank you.

That's a big deal. They like his people. Thank you, everybody. Thank you.

Thank you.