CARPO Pulse
by Desirée Custers and Hubert Kinkoh
Qatar’s mediation of the protracted conflict between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda since March 2025 has achieved preliminary breakthroughs where previous African-led efforts faltered. On 18 March 2025, Qatar facilitated historic direct talks between leaders of the DRC and Rwanda – the first since the escalation of the conflict in eastern DRC – marking a crucial de-escalation at the highest political level. But the significance of this diplomatic achievement extends beyond the immediate Great Lakes crisis, as it highlights a potential shift in the landscape of African-led crisis diplomacy. This CARPO Pulse explores the implications of conflict mediation in Africa by external actors, how it is shaped by geoeconomic interests and geopolitical ambitions, and what the repercussions are for the “African solutions to African problems” paradigm.
