Rwanda’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Vincent Biruta, has dispelled reports claiming that there was an agreement signed or a ceasefire agreed upon between Rwanda and DR Congo during the July 6 Tripartite summit held in Angola’s capital, Luanda. In a tweet sent out by the minister, he condemned misinformation around the agreed-on ‘roadmap on the pacification process in the eastern region of DR Congo,’ saying that such populism intends to undermine efforts geared toward peace in DR Congo and in the Region. “The Luanda tripartite meeting outcome is a roadmap with clear objectives and activities to be implemented by various parties/partners. No agreement or ceasefire was signed. Misinformation/populism are undermining the overall objective of achieving peace in DRC and the region,” reads Biruta’s tweet posted on Friday, July 8. The #Luanda tripartite meeting outcome is a roadmap with clear objectives and activities to be implemented by various parties/partners. No agreement or ceasefire was signed. Misinformation/populism are undermining the overall objective of achieving peace in #DRC and the region. — Vincent Biruta (@Vbiruta) July 8, 2022 During the Luanda summit, Presidents Paul Kagame, his DR Congo counterpart Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi and, Angola’s João Lourenço agreed on the roadmap on the pacification process in the eastern region of DR Congo and ways to de-escalate tensions between Rwanda and DR Congo. The summit was convened by Lourenço in his capacity as the Chair of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR). However, there have been reports claiming that Rwanda and DR Congo signed an agreement to ceasefire, which Biruta has dismissed. In fact, the roadmap centred on defeating the “FDLR and its splinter groups (CNRD, FLN, RUD-Urunana, and FPPH-Abajyarugamba), which are at the origin of tensions between Rwanda and DRC, and play a major role in the insecurity of the DRC in order to ensure that the threat to security ceases completely.” The M23 conflict with DRC was addressed as an internal DRC problem placed under the Nairobi Process. The Nairobi Process is a parallel effort to find a solution to DR Congo’s crisis and it is led by Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, in his capacity as Chairperson of the East African Community, of which Rwanda and DR Congo are both members.
