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NAIROBI: The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda have held their first talks after signing a peace deal to end decades of deadly conflict in mineral-rich eastern Congo, the two countries said on Friday.
Eastern DRC, a region bordering Rwanda with lucrative natural resources, has been plagued by violence for more than three decades and the unrest has claimed thousands of lives.
The crisis intensified early this year when the M23 armed group and Rwandan troops captured the major city of Goma in January, followed by Bukavu in February, setting up parallel administrations in each.
Kinshasa had previously opposed direct dialogue with the M23 and diplomatic attempts, including mediation by Angola, failed.
But the surprise intervention of Qatar succeeded in bringing together Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and Paul Kagame of Rwanda in Doha in mid-March.
A peace agreement followed, inked by their foreign ministers in Washington at the end of June.
On Thursday, representatives from both countries as well as observers from the United States, Qatar and the African Union held their first meeting in Washington since signing the peace deal, according to a joint statement released by both nations on social media.
They “discussed progress on implementing the agreement” among other things, it said.
The agreement was hailed as a significant milestone by the African Union and the United Nations and follows a long series of truces and ceasefires that have been systematically broken.
The deal outlines provisions for the “respect for territorial integrity and halting hostilities” in eastern DRC, which are still however to be implemented.
It also includes economic measures but has few details.
According to the Congolese government and the UN, the violence has left thousands dead and exacerbated a humanitarian crisis for hundreds of thousands of displaced people.
Since February, the front has stabilized. But violence continued between the M23 and a motley group of pro-Kinshasa militias engaged in guerrilla warfare.
In a parallel Qatar-led process, the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group and Kinshasa also signed a declaration of principles in Qatar earlier this month, including a commitment to a permanent ceasefire.
Rwanda denies providing military support to the M23 but says its security has long been threatened by armed groups, including the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), established by ethnic Hutus linked to the massacres of Tutsis in the 1994 Rwanda genocide.
The DRC is the world’s leading producer of cobalt and has deposits of gold and other valuable minerals including coltan, a metallic ore that is vital in making phones and laptops.
Tshisekedi said in April he had discussed a deal for access to the DRC’s mineral wealth with US special envoy Massad Boulos.
On July 17, the DRC government signed an agreement with US group Kobold Metals, which committed to investing in the digitization of geological data and the development of a lithium mine in southeast DRC.
The Congolese president then resolved to hold direct talks with the M23, having previously refused to do so, leading to the Doha agreement.
That agreement saw the government and M23 commit to a “permanent ceasefire” and “dialogue and negotiation” to facilitate the “voluntary” return of refugees and displaced people.
Kinshasa and the M23 gave themselves until July 29 to implement the declaration, with the deal setting an August 8 deadline for formal negotiations on a comprehensive peace accord, to be signed by August 17.
Analysts view the deadlines as tight, especialy as differences quickly emerged including over the issue of a withdrawal by the M23 from areas it has seized.

MANILA: The Philippines launched on Friday a month-long health-screening program for Filipino workers in Bahrain, as Manila seeks to promote wellness among its citizens abroad.

Gulf countries have for years been the main overseas destination for Filipinos, with some 57,000 currently living and working in Bahrain.

The “Healthy Pinoy” campaign, a project spearheaded by the Philippine Embassy in Bahrain in collaboration with the Al-Hilal Healthcare Group, offers free blood testing and doctor consultations for Filipino workers.

“This project, which is in its second year, was conceptualized with the view of promoting health and wellness of the Filipinos in Bahrain by providing them free health screening (and) health check-ups … This will be for the whole month of August,” Consul Bryan Baguio from the Philippine Embassy in Bahrain told Arab News.

Philippine nationals are entitled to get free tests for blood sugar, cholesterol, uric acid, as well as kidney and liver screening, he said, as well as a complimentary medical consultation for a further evaluation.

The services are available at all nine hospitals under the Al-Hilal Healthcare Group across Bahrain, including in Manama, Muharraq and Askar.

The embassy also brought a consular outreach mission on the first day of the campaign, Baguio added, which is providing various services for workers.

“We’re doing this mission in conjunction with the launching because it will be a Friday, which is a rest day for our countrymen here in Bahrain. So this will be an opportunity for them to avail and to consult with the embassies on various services on their day off,” he said.

In 2024, the free health-screening program benefited about 1,000 Filipinos and was held at only one hospital. With additional locations this year, embassy officials are expecting more people to participate.

“Now it will be in nine Al-Hilal hospitals, and we are also adding the complimentary doctor consultations. So we expect more, more than 1,000,” Baguio said.

“Health is a top priority of Filipinos in Bahrain, and that is what we intend to do — to promote the health and wellness of our nationals here by providing them free healthcare services.”