Despite ongoing violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which does warrant businesses to monitor the situation, its effects on trade and development in the broader East African region have been minimal.This comes as violence has yet again escalated in recent weeks between the DRC army and Rwandan-backed M23 Tutsi-led rebels in a conf lict that has been ongoing for decades in the eastern part of the DRC.Most experts Freight Newsspoke to said the biggest impact of the conf lict had been on the DRC itself, with the eastern part of the country attracting little to no investment despite being mineral-rich.Project expert Duncan Bonnett said it had had zero impact to date on trade in countries like Tanzania and Kenya, with fighting restricted mostly to the Congolese side of the border.However, Rwanda stands at a precarious crossroads, as the possibility of an all-out war looms. As one of Africa's top-performing and fastest-growing economies, Rwanda has diligently worked to enhance its risk profile over the years. Yet, the spectre of widespread conf lict threatens to disrupt its progress and stability.As the United States warned both countries to walk back from the brink of war, Rwanda issued a statement saying it was not only deeply concerned about the actions of the DRC government in what it claims to be the abandonment of the Luanda and Nairobi processes, but also the international community’s indifference to the DRC’s dramatic military build-up.The country maintains that the DRC is exposing the entire Great Lakes region to ongoing conf lict and instability.The issue, however, defies easy analysis, according to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. It says the long-standing rivalry between Uganda and Rwanda in the DRC and the Great Lakes region is a key driver of the current crisis.In December, South Africa deployed 2 900 soldiers as part of a Southern African Development Community mission (SAMIDRC) to assist the DRC with rebel attacks.Rwanda maintains the situation in the DRC poses a serious threat to its national security and that the M23 issue must be politically resolved amongst the Congolese.
