It was the emir’s first visit to the DRC. He was received in Kinshasa by President Felix Tshisekedi and senior officials, with both sides holding talks at the airport and later at the presidential palace.
The visit comes after Qatar and the US helped mediate the latest framework deal between the DRC government and M23. Washington and Doha described the agreement as a meaningful step, though only one part of a much longer political process.
Sheikh Tamim travelled to Kinshasa a day after visiting Rwanda, where he met President Paul Kagame. The two stop itinerary was seen as symbolically linking Kigali and Kinshasa at a moment when Qatar is attempting to reduce tensions and push both sides towards dialogue.
Qatar and the DRC signed several cooperation protocols covering economic and political fields during the visit. Qatar’s acting charge d’affaires in Kinshasa, Shafi bin Newaimi al Hajri, said the emir’s trip carried special weight for bilateral ties, noting that both countries have reopened or established embassies since 2022.
Al Hajri added that Doha’s mediation in eastern DRC has been central in bringing the government and M23 back to the table.
Despite the flurry of diplomacy in Doha and Washington, fighting has continued across North Kivu and South Kivu. Congolese authorities and M23 accuse each other of violating earlier commitments and slowing negotiations, while dozens of other armed groups continue to operate across the region.
M23 captured the city of Goma in January and has since expanded its control across parts of the east, deepening a humanitarian crisis that has uprooted more than a million people.
Qatar has hosted several rounds of direct talks since April, mostly focused on confidence building measures and conditions for a monitored ceasefire. The new framework follows earlier agreements reached in July in Doha and a separate bilateral deal between the DRC and Rwanda signed in Washington in June.