Kinshasa, October 9th, 2025 (CPA).- President Felix Tshisekedi has extended a historic hand to his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame for ‘a peace of the braves’ in the Great Lakes region and a lasting peace in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, after ‘millions of deaths’. The Congolese Head of State has made this historic and unexpected appeal on Thursday in Brussels, Belgium, during his speech at the ‘Global Gateway Forum 2025’, in the presence of several African heads of state. ‘We two are alone capable’ of restoring peace in the region, has indicated the Head of State to his Rwandan counterpart. President Tshisekedi has chosen his words carefully to avoid multiple interpretations. For him, the issues are quite clear for President Kagame: all that is needed is to ‘order the M23, supported by the Rwandan army, to withdraw so that peace can return,’ he has said. « The Democratic Republic of Congo is not belligerent. It wants peace, true peace that will bring stability and enable the development of this region, which for me is one of the most beautiful regions in the world (…). I hope that this appeal will be heard by President Kagame, » has said the President of DRC. ‘We are ready, and we want to build this future together starting now, with transparency, fairness and mutual respect,’ he has indicated.
DRC, a solution country
The Congolese Head of State has described the meeting as ‘a forum that has established itself year after year as a platform for energy, connectivity and innovation between Africa and Europe’ and praised the leadership of the European Union, which has chosen to link Africa and the revival of global connectivity to the principles of transparency, sustainability and reciprocity. Speaking about DRC, he has said: ‘We offer solutions.’ President Tshisekedi has presented, among other things, ‘flagship initiatives led by DRC directly linked to the pillars of the Global Forum (…), the Lobito corridor alongside Angola and Zambia, designed by the country as a lever for regional integration, logistical sovereignty and industrialisation’. This involves specifically, he has explained, an initial investment of more than US$1.6 billion, which will enable by 2030, the annual mining capacity of critical minerals to triple from 3 to 10 million tonnes.