Uganda’s Vice President Jessica Alupo is expected to witness a landmark peace agreement between Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame at the White House this Thursday, December 4.
The White House confirmed that U.S. President Donald Trump will host the two leaders for the signing ceremony, which Washington is billing as a “historic peace and economic agreement” brokered by the U.S.
According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the deal follows months of intensive negotiations, including a preliminary peace and economic pact signed by the foreign ministers of Rwanda and the DRC during a Washington event in June. The two sides later met in Qatar in November, where they endorsed a broader framework aimed at ending years of violent conflict in eastern Congo.
Background to the Conflict
Eastern DRC has endured decades of instability driven by more than 100 armed groups, among them the M23 rebels, who have waged intermittent war against the Kinshasa government in North Kivu for over a decade.
M23’s origins are tied to the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, and the group is largely composed of ethnic Tutsi fighters. The rebels re-emerged in 2021, with Kinshasa accusing Kigali of backing the insurgency — allegations Rwanda has repeatedly denied. Rwanda insists its forces have only acted in self-defence against Congolese troops and armed Hutu militias operating near the border.
The fighting has killed thousands of people, many of them civilians, and triggered massive displacement across the region. Hostilities escalated sharply earlier this year when M23 fighters captured two of the DRC’s largest cities, prompting renewed regional and international pressure for a negotiated settlement.
A Deal Amid Fragile Calm
While sporadic clashes have continued, officials say the truce talks have made significant progress, culminating in Thursday’s planned White House signing ceremony. The peace accord is expected to outline security guarantees, demobilisation steps, and joint economic cooperation between Kigali and Kinshasa.
Alupo’s presence at the ceremony is seen as a recognition of Uganda’s central role in regional peace efforts, with her attendance reaffirming Kampala’s commitment to supporting dialogue and stability across the Great Lakes region.
