DRC/Rwanda

Diplomatic renewal as Kagame meets Kabila

Article published on the 2009-08-07 Latest update 2009-08-07 16:36 TU

Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagameat discuss peace, diplomacy and trade Thursday on the border near Goma, in eastern Congo.
(Photo: Reuters)

Following rare dialogue between leaders of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the past foes have hailed a new era and vowed to boost economic and security ties. The move comes after Rwandan President Paul Kagame visited DRC 13 years after the countries severed diplomatic relations.

Kagame was greeted on arrival Thursday at the eastern DRC border city of Goma by his Congolese counterpart, Joseph Kabila. During the talks, Kagame assured Kabila that Rwanda would never be a base for militias that could destabilise Congo.

The landmark visit was the first bilateral attempt aimed at resolving the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Rwanda's foreign minister, Rosemary Museminali told RFI the Goma summit had proved “very fruitful and very positive” and ventured beyond issues of war.

She said the discussions “looked at sectors such as social economic development”, with both sides discussing “developing infrastructure together, and looking at environmental issues together.”

 

Diplomatic relations between the two countries were halted in 1996 after Rwandan forces invaded the DRC to hunt down Hutu rebels believed to have committed the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Then in January, the countries launched an unprecedented joint military operation to flush out the Hutu rebels from eastern DRC. Since these military operations, formal relations between Rwanda and DRC have strengthened.

The United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit Congo next week in a bid to bring peace to the region.