The US is in talks to invest billions of dollars in mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and wants to help end a conflict raging in the country’s east, President Donald Trump’s senior adviser for Africa said during a visit on Thursday.
The DRC, which has vast reserves of cobalt, lithium and uranium among other minerals, has been fighting Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who have seized swathes of its territory this year.
The US, which on Wednesday sent shock waves across the world by announcing a 10% baseline tariff on all imports, said last month that it was open to exploring critical minerals partnerships with DRC after a Congolese senator contacted US officials to pitch a minerals-for-security deal.
“You have heard about a minerals agreement. We have reviewed the Congo’s proposal, and … the president and I have agreed on a path forward for its development,” US senior adviser Massad Boulos said after meeting DRC President Felix Tshisekedi in Kinshasa.
The details of any potential deal, or DRC’s proposal, were not made public on Thursday.
DRC’s minerals, which are used in mobile phones and electric cars, are dominated by China and its mining companies.
How the US will operate in DRC is unclear, but Boulos suggested that US companies would be involved.
“Rest assured, American companies are operating transparently and will stimulate local economies. These are multibillion-dollar investments,” he said.
Joseph Bangakya, DRC parliamentarian and president of a DRC-US friendship parliamentary group, said that MPs were preparing a bill to promote the country’s business climate.
“It is essential for our country to achieve a trade agreement with the US,” he said.
He added that the US wanted to help forge peace in the east where thousands have been killed and hundreds of thousands forced to flee amid M23’s advance, which has seen the group take over eastern DRC’s two largest cities.
“We want a lasting peace that affirms the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the DRC,” he said. “There can be no economic prosperity without security.”
Reuters
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