What Qatar’s Mediation Means for Rwanda and DRC: A Diplomatic Triumph?

Qatar is looking ahead to an era of transformation and growth, which is underpinned by its Third National Development Strategy (NDS-3). The journey has been remarkable, from being a predominantly hydrocarbon-based economy to now standing on the cusp of a diversified and knowledge-based one.  The Qatar National Vision 2030, which forms the centrepiece of the government’s strategy to develop and diversify the economy and to advance environmental management and social development, will shape policy in 2024-28. This year, H.E. Dr. Abdulaziz bin Nasser Al Khalifa, the Secretary-General of the National Planning Council (NPC), confirmed that the Qatari economy continues to experience remarkable growth rates. Referring to the 2024 GDP data, he revealed a real growth rate of 2.4% compared to 2023, with the GDP reaching 713 billion Qatari Riyals at constant prices in 2024, up from 697 billion Qatari Riyals in 2023.

Third party mediation of conflict is a central pillar of Qatar’s foreign policy and one which has brought the country a high level of recognition worldwide through its diplomacy. In order to understand peace diplomacy in Qatar, it is instructive to consider its emergence within the context of both core principles of mediation and the history of this practice in the Middle East. Qatar’s influence in Africa is more often imagined than real. Relations are fairly recent – apart from the Maghreb, Mauritania and Sudan – and are still largely in the making. Although the opening of African embassies in Qatar, as well as those of the Emirate in Africa has been increasing for several years, the reasons and tangible consequences for the growth in these exchanges remain very diverse. For their part, the African countries each have their own specific objectives and diplomacy.

In December 2017, Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani undertook a tour of West Africa, his first trip to the region. The visits, including Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, proved Qatar’s interest in maintaining positive relations with countries worldwide. In 2019, His Highness the Amir also visited Rwanda and made his first visit to Nigeria. Qatar’s foreign policy is based on a set of principles outlined in its Constitution, including strengthening international peace and security by encouraging the peaceful resolution of international disputes and building alliances, and finding solutions to conflicts through dialogue and mediation while respecting sovereign nations’ rights. The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo His Excellency Felix Tshisekedi’s visit to Qatar further highlights Qatar’s diplomatic resolve. Qatar and Congo signed an agreement to establish diplomatic relations in New York in November 2019. The Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations, His Excellency Ambassador Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani, signed on behalf of Qatar, while Permanent Representative of Congo to the United Nations, Ambassador Ignace Gata Mavita wa Lufuta, signed on behalf of D R Congo.

Moreover, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populous officially Francophone country in the world and the 4th-most populous country in Africa. During President Tshisekedi’s visit, His Highness the Amir and H E the President witnessed the signing of several agreements and MoUs between the two countries’ governments. They agreed to promote and protect mutual investments, economic and commercial cooperation, and an understanding to avoid double taxation and prevent financial evasion. Both countries also agreed to partner in maritime transport and aviation services. In 2022 Qatar pledged a $200m donation for climate adaptation projects in African countries vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, including funding for drought and flood mitigation programmes, as well as renewable energy access in off-grid communities. In 2024 it contributed to the creation of Rwanda’s Virunga Africa Fund I, launched with $250m to strengthen social services and private sector growth in innovative domains in Rwanda and the rest of Africa.

As it’s a principle in Qatar foreign policy to comply diplomatic efforts with UN principles and international law. On the other hand, the tools and potentials that made Qatar recognition as a successful mediator are a complexity of various things such, widely strong political connections, huge financial resources, reliability and impartiality. Recently, a trilateral meeting hosted by the State of Qatar on 18 March 2025 in Doha, bringing together His Excellency President Paul Kagame of the Republic of Rwanda and His Excellency President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, under the auspices of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. This meeting took place as Western nations ramp up sanctions against Rwanda for its direct support of the M23 rebel group in the DRC. A joint statement issued along with Qatar, whose emir mediated the sit-down in Doha, said the ceasefire should be “immediate and unconditional”.

Whats it about?

Since early 2022, the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani has sought to mediate the conflict in the Congo due to his close ties with both Tshisekedi and Kagame. In January 2023, Qatar attempted to host peace talks between the conflicting sides, bringing together representatives from Angola, Kenya and the African Union. Scores of armed groups roam the east of the mineral-rich DRC, many of them a legacy of two regional wars at the end of the 20th century that claimed millions of lives. The DRC alleges that Rwanda has violated the African Union’s main human rights treaty, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Kinshasa claims Rwanda has supported M23 rebels since 2021 and that they are responsible for mass killings, mass displacement, destruction of schools, destruction of infrastructure and looting. Rwanda has always denied supporting M23. M23 is one of nearly 100 armed groups operating in eastern DR Congo. The ongoing conflict has resulted in one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises, with more than 7 million people displaced.

Its effectiveness 

On March 23, the State of Qatar welcomed the statements issued by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Republic of Rwanda on their commitment for de-escalation and reducing tensions in the eastern region of Congo, in regards of the M23 statement on their withdrawal from the Walikale area. Qatar viewed this as a significant positive step towards achieving stability and peace in the region. Yvon Muya Cimanga, from the School of Conflict Studies at Saint Paul University in Ottawa, Canada noted that, Qatar is a small country in the Middle East that intends to assert itself on the international stage.”  Yvon added that, to reach their envisioned goals, the governments use politics, sports, diplomacy and the economy as well. “But the country is seeking to diversify the economy, and the Great Lakes region in Africa and its many minerals undoubtedly represent also an opportunity for the monarchy,” Muya told DW.

However, Qatar’s substantial investments make it an important strategic partner for Rwanda. Qatar Airlines holds almost half of the shares in Rwanda’s state-owned airline RwandAir and has a 60% stake in Bugesera International Airport near Rwanda’s capital Kigali. Bugesera Airport Co., the company building a new international airport south of Kigali. With an investment of at least $2 billion, this is Qatar’s largest investment in Africa. In 2021, the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) and Rwanda Finance Limited (RFL) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to boost the two nations’ international development.

Besides, the protection of the investments expected between Qatar and the DRC, the modernization, the development of airport and port infrastructures, the strengthening of the capacities of sectoral experts as well as aeronautical and maritime cooperation, between the DRC and Qatar, constitute the basis of many agreements and memoranda of understanding that the Congolese Minister Marie Tumba Nzeza of Foreign Affairs, and the Qatari Minister of Transport and Communications of Qatar, Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti, signed on March 29, 2021 in Doha, in the presence of President Félix Tshisekedi and the Emir of Qatar, Tamim Ben Hamad Al-Thani.

The media report further says, in infrastructure, the agreements concern the construction and financing of three flagship airports, namely Ndjili and N’Dolo in Kinshasa and Luano in Lubumbashi. They also relate to the modernization of strategic maritime infrastructures such as the ports of Matadi, Kinshasa and Boma, reports the presidency of the DRC. Also, the other documents signed between the two countries concern the Congolese Post and Telecommunications Company (SCPT), the integration of the company Qatar Airways in a Qatar-DRC partnership project relating to the support of the Congolese State through the partnership. With the Airways Authority (RVA) for the modernization, construction and financing of three flagship airports: N’Djili in Kinshasa, Luano in Lubumbashi and Ndolo (Kinshasa) for business aviation.

For N’djili airport project, plans for implementation of the project emerged back in the early 2010s while its pre-feasibility studies began in 2013. The project was officially launched in 2018 with the Chinese company Weihai International Economic & Technical Cooperative Co., Ltd (WIETC) as the contractor. Unfortunately, it stalled with the feasibility studies and the physical work only 60% and 9.8% were done respectively. In 2024, Qatar Airways announced the expansion of its network to include Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, enabling greater flight frequency and increased capacity to Luanda, Angola and other regions.

Implications

Antecedently, the State of Qatar has affirmed that reinforcing the role of African countries in addressing the challenges facing security and global development in Africa is extremely significant, in addition to bolstering global peace and security, as well as accelerating the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030. Qatar pointed out that the strategic significance of Africa, its rich resources and the growing number of its population – which is projected to exceed 2.5 billion by 2050, centralize the continent and makes it an indispensable player in shaping the global future. Although, the M23 has seized large swaths of the mineral-rich eastern DRC, including the main cities of Goma and Bukavu, in a conflict that has displaced about half a million people since January. Diplomats said the United States was backing the effort to mediate by Qatar, which has played go-between in several conflicts in recent years. Of late, the African Union urges all stakeholders to maintain the momentum generated in Doha and to work collectively toward the full implementation of agreed commitments. The AUC stands ready to support and accompany these efforts, in line with its mandate to promote peace, security, and stability across the continent.