Rwanda and Congo signed a peace deal in Washington in June at talks held by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, which aims to bring an end to fighting that has killed thousands and attract billions of dollars of Western investment to a region rich in tantalum, gold, cobalt, copper, lithium and other minerals.

Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo held the first meeting of a joint oversight committee on Thursday, taking a step toward implementing a peace deal agreed last month in Washington even as other commitments are yet to be fulfilled.