President Kagame meets US senior advisor Massad Boulos on Great Lakes security

By The Inspirer.

President Paul Kagame has met with Massad Boulos, senior advisor to the president of the United States for African partnerships, to discuss peace and security in the Great Lakes region.

The meeting was confirmed by the Office of the President at Village Urugwiro on the morning of Thursday, October 9, 2025.

According to the statement, “President Kagame met with Massad Boulos, senior advisor to the US president for African partnerships. Their discussions focused on ongoing efforts to promote peace in the Great Lakes region and Rwanda’s continued commitment to fostering lasting peace and stability.”

President Kagame is currently in Brussels, Belgium, attending the Global Gateway Forum, an international investment summit taking place from October 9 to 10, 2025. The forum brings together several heads of state, including President Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The talks between Kagame and Boulos come a few months after Rwanda and the DRC signed a peace agreement in Washington, D.C., on June 27, 2025, aimed at addressing the long-standing insecurity in eastern DRC.

The agreement includes four key components: dismantling the FDLR militia and lifting Rwanda’s defensive measures; strengthening economic cooperation; advancing political dialogue, including support for ongoing talks between the DRC government and the AFC/M23 group; and facilitating the voluntary repatriation of refugees while establishing mechanisms for regional economic collaboration.

The peace pact also contains a joint operational framework to eliminate the FDLR militia.

It is backed by additional regional integration agreements under preparation, which are expected to be signed soon to encourage major international investment—particularly from the United States and other global powers—into the Great Lakes region.

Despite these commitments, Rwanda has repeatedly noted that the DRC has been slow to implement key provisions of the accord, especially the dismantling of the FDLR, which Kinshasa is accused of integrating into its national army.