Paul Kagame

====Democratic Republic of the Congo====
{{Main|Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda relations}}
[[File:M23 in Goma.PNG|thumb|Anti-government rebels from the [[March 23 Movement|March 23 (M23) Movement]], widely considered to have been supported by Rwanda, during their capture of the provincial capital at [[Goma]] in [[North Kivu]] in November 2012. ]]
The Second Congo War, which began in 1998, was still raging when Kagame assumed the presidency in 2000. [[Namibia]], Angola, Zimbabwe, and [[Chad]] had committed troops to the Congolese government side,{{sfn|BBC News (II)}} while Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi were supporting rebel groups.{{sfn|Prunier|2009|pp=193–198}} The rebel group Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD) had split in 1999 into two factions: the [[Rally for Congolese Democracy–Goma|RCD-Goma]], supported by Rwanda, and the [[RCD-Kisangani]], which was allied to Uganda.{{sfn|Prunier|2009|p=221}} Uganda also supported the [[Movement for the Liberation of the Congo]] (MLC), a rebel group from the north.{{sfn|Prunier|2009|p=221}} All these rebel groups were at war with Kabila's government in Kinshasa, but were also increasingly hostile to each other.{{sfn|Prunier|2009|p=221}} Various peace meetings had been held, culminating in the July 1999 [[Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement]] which was signed by Kabila, Kagame and all the other foreign governments.{{sfn|Prunier|2009|pp=224–225}} The rebel groups were not party to the agreement, and fighting continued.{{sfn|Prunier|2009|pp=224–225}} The RPA continued to be heavily involved in the Congo War during 2000, fighting battles against the Ugandan army in Kisangani and against Kabila's army in [[Kasai region|Kasai]] and [[Katanga Province|Katanga]].{{sfn|Prunier|2009|pp=225, 234}}

In January 2001, Kabila was assassinated inside his palace.{{sfn|Sherwell|Long|2001}} His son [[Joseph Kabila|Joseph]] was appointed president and immediately began asserting his authority by dismissing his father's cabinet and senior army commanders,{{sfn|Prunier|2009|pp=258, 263}} assembling a new government, and engaging with the international community.{{sfn|Prunier|2009|p=257}} The new government provided impetus for renewed peace negotiations, and in July 2002 a peace agreement was reached between Rwanda, Congo, and the other major participants, in which all foreign troops would withdraw and RCD-Goma would enter a power-sharing transitional government with Joseph Kabila as interim president until elections could be held.{{sfn|Prunier|2009|p=272}} Kagame's government announced at the end of 2002 that all uniformed Rwandan troops had left Congolese territory, but this was contradicted by a 2003 report by UN panel of experts. According to this report, the Rwandan army contained a dedicated "Congo desk" which used the armed forces for large-scale illegal appropriation of Congolese resources.{{sfn|Armbruster|2003}}{{sfn|Human Rights Watch (I)|2005}}
[[File:The heads of delegations attending the Russia-Africa Summit pose for photographs (2019-10-24).jpg|thumb|Kagame, DRC president [[Félix Tshisekedi]] and other African leaders at the [[Russia–Africa Summit 2019|Russia–Africa Summit]] in Sochi on 24 October 2019]]
Despite the agreement and subsequent ceasefire, relations between Kagame and the Congolese government remained tense.{{sfn|Armbruster|2003}} Kagame blamed the DRC for failing to suppress the [[Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda]] (FDLR), Rwandan Hutu rebels operating in North and South Kivu provinces.{{sfn|Al Jazeera (III)|2007}} Kabila accused Rwanda of using the Hutu as a "pretext for maintaining its control and influence in the area".{{sfn|Voice of America|2009}} There has been [[Kivu conflict|ongoing conflict]] in Congo's eastern provinces since 2004, during which Kagame has backed two major insurgencies. This included a major rebellion from 2005 to 2009, led by Congolese Tutsi [[Laurent Nkunda]], as well as the [[M23 rebellion|a rebellion]] carried out by the [[March 23 Movement]] (M23) under leader [[Bosco Ntaganda]], beginning in 2012.{{sfn|International Crisis Group|2020}}{{sfn|BBC News (XVII)|2014}} A leaked United Nations report in 2012 cited Kagame's defence minister James Kabarebe as being effectively the commander of the M23.{{sfn|BBC News (XIV)|2012}} Relations have improved since 2016, as Kagame held a bilateral meeting with Kabila in Gisenyi.{{sfn|Piel|Tilouine|2016}} When [[Félix Tshisekedi]] was elected DRC president in 2019, Kagame – the AU chairman at the time – unsuccessfully called for an AU investigation into the poll. Despite this, he has developed a close relationship with Tshisekedi since the latter's election, with summits in both Kinshasa and Kigali. As of 2020, Kagame still faces accusations that Rwanda's troops are active within the Kivu provinces. Congolese officials such as [[Walikale Territory|Walikale]] member of parliament [[Juvénal Munubo]], as well as civilians, have reported sighting RDF soldiers in the DRC, but Kagame consistently denies these claims.{{sfn|Gras|2020}}