Trump uses the Congo war to secure US access to strategic minerals

The United States is negotiating an agreement with Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to end the war between the two countries in the northeast of the latter country. However, the precondition for signing this pact is that American companies have privileged access to strategic minerals such as cobalt, lithium , tantalum, and tin, materials that both countries possess in abundance and that are essential for the technology industry. In return, the Donald Trump administration would commit not only to reaching a peace agreement, but also to guaranteeing Congolese territorial integrity, currently threatened by the invasion of the M23 rebel group supported by the Kigali authorities , and to developing infrastructure such as railways, roads, and dams through investment from the American private sector.

And the first steps, both in terms of peace and trade agreements, are already materializing. On the one hand, the US administration's senior advisor on Africa and Trump's father-in-law, businessman Massad Boulos , announced on the social network X that he had just received the first draft of the peace proposal, the details of which in any case have not been revealed. On the other hand, the Trinity Metals group, which operates the largest tin mine in Rwanda, has just signed an agreement with the American company Nathan Trotter, a leader in the processing and distribution of this metal, to establish a new, stable supply chain of tin from Rwanda to the United States. According to the US State Department's Office of Energy Resources, this type of project linked to critical minerals supports "the industrial relocation of the United States," strengthens American national security, and promotes economic prosperity.

The offensive launched by the M23 rebels in northeastern Congo at the end of last year intensified in late January and February with the capture of two of the region's main cities , Goma and Bukavu, which remain occupied by this armed group. Various initiatives to achieve a sustainable ceasefire, including the Qatar-led Doha peace process, have so far failed to halt the war. Faced with the advance of the M23 and Rwandan soldiers on his territory, Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi wrote a letter to his US counterpart, Donald Trump, on February 8, in which he asked for help in defeating the rebels in exchange for access to their strategic minerals, according to The Wall Street Journal .

The US response was not long in coming. Boulos toured Congo, Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda, during which he outlined the roadmap for US intervention in this conflict. The first country with which negotiations were established was the DRC itself. Although the type of military aid it would receive has not been specified, agreements are already being worked on to allow Congolese strategic minerals to flow to the US in exchange for investment in railways, highways, and energy projects, such as hydroelectric dams, within a context of reforms linked to legal certainty and transparency to make such investments possible.

“Boosting US private sector investment in the DRC, particularly in the mining sector, is a shared goal that will make both countries more prosperous,” Boulos said at a press conference. It is a “mutually beneficial” proposal. Our role is to facilitate US private sector investment, but also to provide full institutional support,” he added. To date, the bulk of the DRC's mineral exports have been exported to China . The White House's senior advisor on Africa is confident that this initiative will tip the balance in favor of the US. “Over time, the Congolese people will see who their best partners are,” Boulos said. Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya confirmed the existence of these negotiations.

The agreement focuses on the DRC, but also includes Rwanda. As Boulos himself told Reuters, “The agreement with Congo is much bigger, because it's a much larger country and has many more resources, but Rwanda also has many resources, capabilities, and potential in the mining sector.” The first fruits of these negotiations were seen in late April, when the foreign ministers of the DRC and Rwanda, Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner and Olivier Nduhungirehe, respectively, signed a declaration of principles in Washington pledging to lay the foundations for lasting peace in northeastern Congo. The signing took place in the presence of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and was announced as a preliminary step toward a final peace agreement, which has yet to materialize.

And last Thursday, Boulos received a draft agreement, which he announced with the following message on social media : “I welcome the draft peace proposal received from both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. This is an important step toward fulfilling the commitments made in the Declaration of Principles, and I count on your continued commitment to achieving peace.”

Over the past two decades, China has achieved a privileged position in the exploitation of Congolese strategic minerals. However, the US is trying to regain ground with ambitious initiatives, such as the so-called Lobito Corridor, a railway line that aims to link Angola, Zambia, and the DRC itself. China currently controls 80% of Congolese cobalt production, primarily in the south of the country, but the enormous potential in other minerals, such as tantalum in the Kivus region, where M23 operates and currently dominated by artisanal production, sustains the interest of the US private sector. To achieve this, however, it is essential that peace be achieved first.