Rwanda and DR Congo to strengthen cooperation

Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have pledged to work in partnership to create a new era of regional and bilateral cooperation, aimed at changing the narrative from the political conflicts that have hampered regional integration to focusing on investments to grow economies.

Paul Kagame, president of Rwanda, and Felix Tshisekedi, DR Congo president, agreed on Tuesday at the closing ceremony of the 2019 Africa CEO forum, that time was ripe for the heads of state to focus on issues that are beneficial to the people and regional integration rather than engaging in "bad" politics that will only drag the region backward.

Kagame said: "Our focus should be what we can do together as a continent to realize transformation. We should address the root cause of the continued instability in different parts of the continent for the integration process to be successful."

The president said people's welfare should be the central focus of every leader if meaningful success, both at national and regional levels, is to be realized.

"We need leaders who are ready to cooperate with each other in solving issues because our challenges are common," Kagame said.

President Tshisekedi promised the people of the DR Congo a new era of politics that seeks to burry historical issues and focus on opportunities that will benefit the people.

In the past, militia groups operating in DR Congo's vast territory have threatened Rwanda, often resulting into bilateral confrontations with previous governments in Kinshasa.

But in what he called "a new era of leadership" Tshesekendi has pledged to deal with the issue to pave way for better ties with regional neighbors including Rwanda.

Kagame said: "Tshisekedi has made commitments to the people of DRC and the people of the region. We must believe him and extend our hand of cooperation, as he does with us, and see how far we can go."

He said Rwandan problems often end up affecting the DR Congo and vice versa because of their geographical proximity, hence need for the two heads of state to support each other.

"We should be serious on matters of stability and development, a goal that can't be achieved without cooperation and focusing on the common interest of our countries and people," he said.

As for the ongoing Uganda-Rwanda impasse that has resulted to border restrictions by the two countries, Tshisekedi said he held talks with Kagame and his Uganda counterpart Yoweri Museveni and assured the delegates that the situation won't escalate to violence.

"We are ready to build each other. We are interested in being builders of bridges not walls," he said.

Kagame assured the delegates of his commitment to engaging with his regional counterparts until a solution to the problem is found.

Proving his focus on the new era of cooperation, Tshisekedi said his country has vast untapped energy resources that can be generated through partnerships to boost the continent's energy generation.

One of the proposed energy projects in DR Congo is Grand Inga, one of the series of dams that are proposed for the lower Congo River. The ultimate goal of the project is to construct a complex capable of supplying the entire sub-Saharan region with a cumulative output capacity of 42,000 megawatts, according to Hydroworld.com.

The massive project has been in the works for more than a decade.