The US and Democratic Republic of Congo are preparing a minerals and security partnership, President Donald Trump’s senior adviser for Africa said after meeting with President Felix Tshisekedi Thursday.
Massad Boulos was in Congo’s capital, Kinshasa, to discuss an offer by Tshisekedi to invest in the country’s rich mining industry in exchange for security assistance in the nation’s fight against a rebel group in its east backed by neighboring Rwanda. Congo is the world’s second-largest source of copper and biggest producer of electric vehicle battery mineral cobalt.
“We have reviewed the DRC’s proposal, and I am pleased to announce that the president and I have agreed on a path forward for its development,” Boulos said after the meeting, according to audio shared by Tshisekedi’s office. The Trump administration looks forward “to fostering US private sector investment in the DRC, particularly in the mining sector.”
Tshisekedi is hoping US interest in Congo’s minerals will encourage the country to back his government, which is teetering amid the continued rebel advance in the east. Congo also holds vast reserves of critical minerals including lithium, tantalum and manganese.
Boulos gave no details of the proposed partnership, but said the US was working to end the fighting.
“We seek a lasting peace that affirms the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the DRC, and lays the foundations for a thriving regional economy,” he said.
Boulos will head to Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda to discuss the conflict in eastern Congo and US private sector investment in the region, according to the State Department. Boulos is also Trump’s Arab and Middle Eastern Affairs and father-in-law of his daughter, Tiffany.
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