President Donald Trump’s senior Africa adviser said after meeting with Felix Tshisekedi on Thursday that the Democratic Republic of Congo was preparing for a mineral and security partnership.
Massad Boulos discusses Tshisekedi’s proposal to invest in the country’s wealthy mining industry in exchange for security aid in neighbouring Rwanda’s struggle to support its rebel group in the east. Congo is the world’s second largest copper and largest producer of cobalt for electric vehicles.
According to the audio shared by the Tshisekedi office, Boulos said: “We have reviewed the proposals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and I am pleased to announce that the President and I have agreed to the path to its development.” The Trump administration is looking forward to “promoting investment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the United States, especially in the mining sector.”
Tshisekedi hopes that U.S. interest in Congolese minerals will encourage the country to support his administration, which is shaking in the ongoing rebel advances in the East. Congo also holds a large number of key mineral reserves, including lithium, tatalum and manganese.
Bros did not provide details of the proposed partnership, but said the U.S. is working to end the fight.
“We seek lasting peace, affirming the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and laying the foundation for a booming regional economy,” he said.
According to the State Department, Blos will travel to Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda to discuss conflicts between the eastern Congo and the U.S. private sector in the region. Bros is also Trump’s Arab and Middle East affairs, and his daughter Tiffany’s father-in-law.
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