The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda have reached an outline economic cooperation accord during their first talks since signing a peace deal, the United States has announced.

A peace agreement reached in June aimed to end decades of conflict in eastern DR Congo. It was overseen by Washington which has sought to increase its access to the region's vast mineral wealth.

The "economic integration framework" initialled on Friday is part of the peace accord, the US State Department said.

It is designed, according to the peace deal, to introduce greater transparency into supply chains for critical minerals such as coltan and lithium and should be effective by the end of September.

DRC, Rwanda agree to coordinate

The State Department said the two countries had agreed to coordinate "in areas including energy, infrastructure, mining, national park management and tourism, and public health", without giving further details.

"These milestones represent concrete progress in advancing security, economic cooperation, and the shared pursuit of peace and prosperity under the Peace Agreement," Massad Boulos, President Donald Trump's senior adviser on Africa, posted on X.

Eastern DRC, a region bordering Rwanda with abundant natural resources, saw a fresh surge of violence this year when the M23 rebels captured the key cities of Goma and Bukavu.

After months of broken truces, the DRC and M23 signed a declaration of principle on June 19 reaffirming their commitment to a permanent ceasefire.

DRC inks deal with American mineral exploration company

Two days earlier, the Kinshasa government inked an agreement with US group Kobold Metals, which specialises in exploring for critical metals.

DRC President Felix Tshisekedi said in April he had met US envoy Massad Boulos to discuss access to minerals.

The DRC is the world's leading producer of cobalt.

It also has deposits of gold and other valuable minerals including coltan, a metallic ore that is vital in making phones and laptops, and lithium, which is essential for electric car batteries.

DRC, Rwanda's meeting in Washington

On Thursday and Friday, representatives from the DRC and Rwanda, alongside observers from the United States, Qatar and the African Union, held their first meetings in Washington since signing the peace deal.

The US said the economic framework and a meeting on Thursday of the countries' peace deal monitoring committee were a "significant step", saying the African neighbours were "taking meaningful actions to advance security and economic cooperation."

The peace deal has been welcomed by the African Union and the United Nations.

The UN says thousands have been killed in the recent unrest and hundreds of thousands displaced.

Comprehensive peace deal expected by August 17

Rwanda, which has faced repeated accusations from DRC and the UN of backing M23, denies providing military support to the rebel group.

Rwanda, however, says its security has long been threatened by the presence in the region of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), established by ethnic Hutus linked to the massacres of Tutsis in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Kinshasa and the M23 have given themselves until August 8 to start talks on a comprehensive peace accord, to be signed by August 17.