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Congo president meets US lawmaker amid talk of mineral deal
By Reuters
March 17, 202511:20 AM GMT+3Updated 3 days ago
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Democratic Republic of the Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi arrives to attend the opening session of the 19th Summit of the Francophonie at the Grand Palais in Paris, France October 5, 2024. Ludovic Marin/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
KINSHASA, March 17 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi has met U.S. lawmaker Ronny Jackson to discuss fighting in the east of the country and opportunities for U.S. investment, Congo's presidency said.
The meeting took place one week after Washington said it was open to exploring critical minerals partnerships with Congo. A Congolese lawmaker in February contacted U.S. officials to pitch a minerals-for-security deal.
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A presidency statement described Jackson as a "special envoy" for U.S. President Donald Trump.
Tshisekedi faces an insurgency by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in east Congo and his government plans to send a delegation to peace talks in Angola on Tuesday.
Congo has vast reserves of cobalt, lithium and uranium among other minerals.
The government has not publicly detailed a proposal for a deal with the U.S., saying only that it was seeking diversified partnerships.
There was no direct mention of minerals in Sunday's statement.
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"We want to work so that American companies can come and invest and work in the DRC. And to do that, we have to make sure that there is a peaceful environment," Jackson was quoted as saying in the statement.
The long-running conflict in east Congo is rooted in the spillover into Congo of Rwanda's 1994 genocide and the struggle for control of Congo's vast mineral resources.
It escalated significantly this year and M23 now controls east Congo's two biggest cities. Rwanda is accused of backing the Tutsi-led M23, which it denies.
Byron Cabrol, senior Africa analyst at Dragonfly, said last week it would be a struggle to entice U.S. mining companies to invest in Congo due to poor infrastructure, insecurity, corruption and the dominance of Chinese firms.
Colonialism by another form.

For those that are unaware, Congo is responsible for 70% of the world's global cobalt production and has 50% of its reserves.
Cobalt is a very important component in lithium-ion batteries which are used to power EVs. The value of Congo DRC's mineral reserves is valued at $24tn - this is about the same value of Saudi Arabia's proven oil reserves. Resource wise, it is literally one of the richest countries on earth, but GDP-wise it is one of the poorest.
It's going to be a key battleground for the control of its vast mineral resources for the foreseeable future with multinationals, foreign powers and mercenaries all taking part to ensure the country remains unstable so that there is a free flow of these resources outside of the continent. There are no Lumumbas. There are only people who think about their pockets before the progress of their country.