In a renewed hope for a peaceful solution in the region and the Democratic Republic of Congo in particular, President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame met face-to-face in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday.
The two belligerents were hosted by the leader of the Middle East state, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to discuss the crisis in eastern DRC.
At the meeting that came on the day Tshisekedi and M23 rebels were scheduled to meet in Angola, Luanda, before the latter pulled out.
The two men “reaffirmed their commitment” to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and agreed to continue dialogue for lasting peace, according to a joint statement.
The Heads of State welcomed the progress made in the Luanda and Nairobi processes, as well as the joint EAC-SADC summit held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on February 8, 2025, it said.
They reaffirmed the commitment of all parties to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire as was agreed at the Dar-es-salaam summit.
At the said meeting the leaders agreed on the need to continue the discussions initiated in Doha to establish solid foundations for lasting peace as envisioned in the Luanda/Nairobi process, now merged and/or aligned.
The communique said the “fruitful” meeting, helped build confidence in a shared commitment to a secure and stable future for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the region.
While the different processes have been calling for direct talks between DRC and the M23, the decision by Kagame to meet Tshisekedi is expected to give impetus to the peace process.
Rwanda has widely been accused of being the force behind the strength and motivation of the rebels to sustain their offensive on DRC.
The scheduled Tuesday meeting between M23 and the DRC government flopped after M23 accused the European Union of detailing the process with new sanctions on its leaders.
On Monday, the EU announced it was putting restrictions on John Bosco Nzabonimpa Mupenzi, the Deputy Head of Finance and Production in the M23 movement, Joseph Musanga Bahati, the M23 governor of North Kivu, and Bertrand Bisimwa, the political head of the M23.
EU accused them of leading an armed group to commit atrocities against civilians in the DRC.
Some officials in the Rwandan government were also affected by the sanctions that came hours after Kigali announced the severance of ties with Brussels and gave the diplomats 48 hours to leave the country.
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