Exclusive: US-DR Congo relations on track despite midterms defeat
Semafor · Alexis Akwagyiram ·
DR Congo’s communications minister tells Semafor there was strong cross-party backing for recent agreements.
DR Congo’s strategic partnership with Washington is unlikely to be affected by the heavy defeat suffered by President Donald Trump’s party in the US midterms, its communications minister told Semafor. Patrick Muyaya said there was strong cross-party backing for recent agreements that provide the US government and companies with access to critical minerals and seek to bring peace to conflict-hit eastern DR Congo.
The Central African country has become a focal point of the Trump administration’s bid to secure minerals needed for AI technology. Muyaya said support for the deals from the Democrats showed the US had the “leadership and political will” to continue implementing its agreements.
Congolese and American officials held bilateral talks in Paris on Thursday to review progress on the Lobito Corridor, the Grand Inga hydropower project and critical minerals investments. Muyaya also told Semafor ahead of the talks that Kinshasa planned to present a list of mineral assets to US government officials.The step is part of a strategic partnership agreed last December under which American buyers would get preferential access. DR Congo accounts for around 70% of the world’s supply of cobalt, which underpins the global battery industry, and is Africa’s top copper producer.