US President Donald Trump praised the leaders of DR Congo and Rwanda for their courage as they signed a deal on Thursday aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Congo and opening the region’s critical mineral reserves to the US government and American companies.
The moment offered Trump – who has repeatedly and with a measure of exaggeration boasted of brokering peace in some of the world’s most entrenched conflicts – another chance to tout himself as a deal maker extraordinaire on the global stage and make the case that he is deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize. The US leader has not been shy about his desire to receive the honour.
“It’s a great day for Africa, a great day for the world,” Trump said before the leaders signed the pact. “Today, we’re succeeding where so many others have failed.”
But the Trump-brokered peace is precarious.