The leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda signed a deal on Thursday mediated by the U.S. aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Congo and opening the region's critical mineral reserves to the U.S. government and American companies.
U.S. President Donald Trump praised the leaders of the two countries for their courage, using the moment to tout himself as a dealmaker extraordinaire on the global stage and making the case that he's deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize.
He hasn't been shy about his desire to receive the honor and has repeatedly and with a measure of exaggeration boasted of brokering peace in some of the world's most entrenched conflicts.
"It's a great day for Africa, a great day for the world," Trump said shortly before the leaders signed the pact. He added, "Today, we're succeeding where so many others have failed."
Trump welcomed Presidents Felix Tshisekedi of Congo and Paul Kagame of Rwanda, as well as several officials from other African nations who traveled to Washington to witness the signing, in the same week he contemptuously derided the war-torn country of Somalia
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