WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States has signaled openness to exploring a minerals partnership with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country rich in cobalt, lithium, and uranium.
The move follows an approach from a Congolese senator pitching a minerals-for-security deal, a U.S. State Department spokesperson told Reuters.
The DRC has been battling Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, who have seized significant territory this year, intensifying concerns over regional stability.
While discussions of a potential U.S.-Congo minerals deal have been circulating in Kinshasa for weeks, no official proposal has been made public.
Congo’s vast mineral wealth is of growing strategic interest as the U.S. seeks to diversify critical supply chains, currently dominated by China.
The Biden administration has been actively encouraging U.S. private-sector investment in the DRC’s mining sector, emphasizing responsible and transparent resource development.
“There is a desire for us to diversify our partners,” Congolese government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya said last week, acknowledging ongoing exchanges between Kinshasa and Washington. “If American investors are interested, they will find space here.”
However, the U.S. faces structural challenges in competing with China, which dominates Congo’s mineral sector through state-backed enterprises.
Unlike China, the U.S. lacks state-owned mining companies, and no major American firms currently operate in Congo, raising questions about how a potential partnership would take shape.
The latest push for a minerals partnership came from Congolese Senator Pierre Kanda Kalambayi, whose lobbyist sent letters to U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, proposing investment in exchange for security support.
However, Congolese officials say this initiative was not sanctioned by the government or presidency.
Still, discussions are underway. Andre Wameso, a top aide to President Félix Tshisekedi, traveled to Washington earlier this month for talks on potential cooperation.
A Congolese delegation had also been set to meet with the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee on March 6 but canceled at the last minute, according to sources.
Experts believe Washington will take interest in Congo’s mineral potential but caution that a straightforward investment-for-security deal may be difficult.
“If the Congolese want to make this work, they’ll have to look at more complicated ways of engaging the U.S.,” said Jason Stearns, a Congo expert at Canada’s Simon Fraser University.
