President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) offered the US and Europe a stake in the country's vast mineral wealth, aiming to reduce China's dominance and enhance security.
The DRC possesses significant reserves of coltan and cobalt, crucial for electronics and electric vehicles. China currently holds greater access to these resources than the US or Europe.
Mr. Tshisekedi criticized a deal between the European Union and Rwanda, accusing the EU of complicity in the theft of Congolese minerals. He views Western investment, including a potential minerals deal, as crucial for stability amidst ongoing conflict.
The conflict in Congo, likened by Tshisekedi to the Russia-Ukraine war, involves an armed group backed by Rwanda seizing territory. This has led to concerns about resource plunder and instability.
China's substantial influence in the Congolese minerals sector provides a backdrop for President Tshisekedi’s proposal of a minerals deal with Western nations.
In his first interview since an armed group backed by Rwanda seized swaths of his country’s territory this year, Felix Tshisekedi, the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, offered the United States and Europe a stake in his country’s vast mineral wealth, a sector currently dominated by China.
Congo is considered to be among the world’s wealthiest countries in terms of natural resources. It provides much of the world’s coltan, which is used to power smartphones and computers. It also holds more than half the world’s cobalt reserves, used in electric vehicles.
Mr. Tshisekedi seemed eager to capitalize on this as he tries to manage a conflict he says is similar to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Mr. Tshisekedi has pinned his hopes on Western pressure against Rwanda, calculating that major investments in Congo — including a possible minerals deal — would bring his country much more security and stability.
China currently has far greater access to Congo’s mineral wealth than the United States, while the European Union has negotiated with Rwanda, agreeing to give it about $935 million in return for access to minerals like tin, tungsten and gold.
Mr. Tshisekedi said those minerals are plundered by Rwanda from his country, and called Europe’s deal “an absolute scandal,” accusing the European Union of being “complicit in the theft and looting of Congo.”
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