US open to minerals partnerships with Congo

10/3/2025 6:27

The United States is open to

exploring critical minerals partnerships with Congo, the State

Department said in a statement to Reuters on Sunday, after a

Congolese senator contacted U.S. officials to pitch a

minerals-for-security deal.



Democratic Republic of Congo, which is rich in cobalt,

lithium and uranium among other minerals, has been fighting

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who have seized swathes of its

territory this year.



Talk of a deal with the U.S. - which is also in discussions

with Ukraine over a minerals pact - has circulated in Kinshasa

for weeks.



"The United States is open to discussing partnerships in

this sector that are aligned with the Trump Administration's

America First Agenda," a State Department spokesperson said,

noting that Congo held "a significant share of the world's

critical minerals required for advanced technologies."



The U.S. has worked "to boost U.S. private sector investment

in the DRC to develop mining resources in a responsible and

transparent manner," the spokesperson said.



Kinshasa has not publicly detailed a proposal, instead

saying it is seeking diversified partnerships.



"There is a desire for us to diversify our partners,"

Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said last week,

adding there were "daily exchanges" between Congo and the U.S.



"If today American investors are interested in coming to the

DRC, obviously they will find space ... DRC has reserves that

are available and it would also be good if American capital

could invest here," he said.







REGIONAL STABILITY



Andre Wameso, deputy chief of staff to Congolese President

Felix Tshisekedi, travelled to Washington earlier this month for

talks on a partnership, two sources told Reuters.



On February 21, a lobbyist representing the Congolese

Senator Pierre Kanda Kalambayi sent letters to U.S. Secretary of

State Marco Rubio and other American officials inviting U.S.

investment in Congo's vast mineral resources in exchange for

helping to reinforce "regional stability".



That initiative was not sanctioned by the broader Congolese

government or presidency, according to two Congolese officials.

There are, however, several initiatives underway, albeit in

nascent stages, sources from Congo's presidency, its ministry of

mines, and from Washington told Reuters.



A Congolese delegation had been scheduled to meet with the

House Foreign Affairs Committee on March 6, but cancelled the

meeting at short notice, according to two sources.



"I think it's certainly something that will pique people's

interest in Washington, and I think it has attracted interest,"

said Jason Stearns, a Congo expert at Canada's Simon Fraser

University, noting that Congo's mineral supply chains are

currently dominated by China.



But, he said, the U.S. does not have state-owned companies

like China does, and no private American mining companies

currently operate in Congo.



"So if the Congolese want to make this work, it will

probably not be by offering a U.S. company a mining concession.

They'll have to look at more complicated ways of engaging the

U.S.", he added.