The Congo’s president meets with a US senator while discussing a mineral agreement

The president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, met with U.S. senator Ronny Jackson to talk about hostilities in the country’s east and potential U.S. business prospects, the presidency of the country stated.

The meeting happened a week after Washington declared it was willing to look into important resource agreements with Congo. To propose a minerals-for-security agreement, a Congolese senator reached out to U.S. authorities in February.

Jackson is a “special envoy” for U.S. President Donald Trump, according to a presidential statement.

In east Congo, Tshisekedi is dealing with an insurrection led by M23 rebels backed by Rwanda, and his government intends to send a delegation to peace negotiations in Angola on Tuesday.

Congo possesses abundant supplies of uranium, lithium, and cobalt, among other minerals.

While stating that it was looking for diversified partnerships, the administration has not made any public details of a contract proposal with the United States.

In Sunday’s announcement, minerals were not specifically mentioned.

“Our goal is to make it possible for American businesses to return to the DRC to work and invest. And in order to accomplish that, we must ensure a tranquil atmosphere,” Jackson was cited as adding in the release.

East Congo’s protracted conflict stems from the 1994 Rwandan genocide that spilled over into Congo and the competition for control of Congo’s abundant mineral riches.

M23 now controls the two largest cities in east Congo after it intensified this year. Rwanda denies supporting the Tutsi-led M23, despite accusations to the contrary.

The dominance of Chinese corporations, corruption, insecurity, and inadequate infrastructure make it difficult to attract U.S. mining companies to invest in Congo, according to Byron Cabrol, senior Africa analyst at Dragonfly, who made this statement last week.