After more than three decades of genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, which has plunged the Great Lakes region into unprecedented turmoil in more than three decades, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continue to build cooperation and neighbor relations for the collective benefit in building cooperation and neighbor relations.

After the genocide, about 800,000 people were killed in 100 days, and thousands of Rwandans (including defeated Rwandan armed forces and some members of the militia responsible for the genocide) crossed the DRC and settled in refugee camps in the eastern part of the country, near the Rwandan border. This became a security issue for the new Rwandan government. Since then, there has been no peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In 1996, an alliance of Democratic Forces liberated the Congo Zaire (AFDL), Rwanda, Uganda, Berndian and some Congolese dissidents launched a war against the Zaire government. The AFDL was primarily a Congolese movement against Zaire's leaders, but received significant support from the Rwandan and Ugandan governments, expelling President Mobutu Sese Seko and putting Laurent-Desire Kabila in power. However, this change in the government and the brutal demolition of the Hutu refugee camps that accompanied it did not introduce meaningful internal government cooperation or end the security issues in Rwanda.

In the decades that followed, the Rwandan government continued to monitor the permanent conflict in the Democratic Republic of the East Congo, citing concerns based on dissidents. According to a UN report, since 2012, this involvement includes direct support for the M23 rebel group, an uprising against the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In January 2025, the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo disconnected diplomatic ties from Rwanda after the United Nations confirmed its support for Rwanda's M23. Rwanda's development partners subsequently imposed sanctions on the country, some officials and the Gasbakin refinery, demanding that Rwanda immediately stop supporting M23 and withdraw its troops from the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

For the interests of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the entire region, the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and the decades-old tensions between two neighboring governments need to end.

When someone invests deeply in providing democracy and development to all Rwandans, I have long called on the Rwandan government to engage in active diplomacy to address the differences with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Rwanda must engage in such diplomacy to overcome its structural limitations to develop into a small landlocked country with limited natural resources.

If Rwanda solves the problem with his neighbors, it can eventually achieve true regional integration, participate in profitable regional supply chains, and become a reliable partner for the wider international community.

The United States is currently trying to engage in a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which could put Kigali on the path to achieving all of these benefits.

However, any peace agreement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda is necessary.

As many have suggested, I agree that there is only one peace agreement supported by incentives for bilateral mineral cooperation, guaranteed by global powers like the United States (which will help control natural resources competition) to succeed. After all, there is no doubt that illegal trading of minerals has been used to fund conflicts in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. However, this dark trade is not the root cause of the conflict, and its cessation alone cannot resolve the problem between the two neighbors.

In fact, the fundamental reason for the conflict in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is the lack of good governance and strong democracy throughout the Great Lakes region of Africa.

The lack of democracy, justice and respect for human rights, coupled with social and economic exclusion, has caused the surviving Hutu refugee camps of Rwandans to be prohibited from returning to Rwanda, while others leave the country for asylum in regional countries. Some Congolese also entered Rwanda to escape war, persecution and exclusion.

According to the latest data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are still more than 200,000 Rwandan refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and nearly 83,000 Rwandan refugees. In other regional states, such as Uganda, there are more Congolese refugees, with more than 600,000 of them. Some of these refugees have been enrolled.

All of this enables power holders to abuse their authority and create chaos in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Although illegal trade in minerals has already funded the conflict, the root cause of violence remains the lack of good governance and the inability or reluctance of the authorities to address the core concerns of refugees, which are the reasons they seek asylum in Rwanda or the Democratic Republic of the Congo and why they do not want to return to their country of origin.

The United States can help resolve this issue by including conditions in the peace agreement and bring sustainable peace to the region, and it currently calls for the Rwandan and Congo governments to have direct dialogue with their respective oppositions - both inside and outside their borders - as well as with refugees and with political inclusion, political politics respecting human rights, political rights on human rights, and good governments on human rights and the realization of good governments. This would allow refugees to voluntarily return to their country of origin and could ultimately end decades of chaos in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Rwanda does not even need our pressure to embark on the path of positive diplomacy and dialogue, because constantly seeking solutions through dialogue is one of the fundamental requirements of its constitution. The Rwandan opposition has expressed a desire for such constructive dialogue with the government. Four years ago, in June 2021, we submitted a promising roadmap to the Rwandan government, formally requesting the organization - Morgan Dan Dialogue.

Similar efforts are underway in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Opposition figures in the country recently called for internal dialogue to address internal governance issues.

It is time for Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to have dialogue with their respective refugees and opposition members. This will not only ensure the long-term success of the peace agreement of Washington brokerage, but also ensure a trust building between state officials on both sides and pave the way for real regional cooperation, which will help both countries thrive after peace.

The views expressed in this article are the author's own views and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.