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Secretary Rubio Hosts the DRC–Rwanda Declaration of Principles Signing Ceremony, April 25, 2025

April 25, 2025 · U.S. Department of State · 0:12:20

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted a Declaration of Principles signing ceremony at the Department of State on April 25, 2025, between Democratic Republic of the Congo Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner and Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe, according to the State Department broadcast, which carries the ceremony and Rubio’s remarks.

Why it matters

The declaration was the administration’s first formal step toward a negotiated settlement of the eastern Congo conflict — Rubio personally hosting the two foreign ministers in Washington put the Secretary’s own signature on the process that later produced the Washington peace agreement.

Scoreboard watch

A signing ceremony hosted by the Secretary between two parties to an active conflict is a scoreboard candidate: the Declaration of Principles is the dated, on-record commitment whose follow-through the promise record can be checked against.

Sources: U.S. Department of State, official upload (embedded above). Remarks as delivered; full transcript at state.gov.