Congo-Kinshasa: U.S. Ready to Press for Peace in Eastern Congo, Envoy Says After Talks

Monrovia — The Trump administration is prepared to use “all diplomatic and economic tools” at its disposal to advance the cause of peace in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Senior Africa Advisor Massad Boulos said during an online briefing on Thursday following his visit to four nations in the region.

Boulos said the trip demonstrated the “fresh approach” President Donald Trump is taking towards Africa by “pursuing our security interests while strengthening our economic relationship with the people and nations in Africa through greater trade and investment.” He said the talks already yielded “important progress on the security front,” when M23 pulled troops from the town of Walikale – situated in the North Kivu province. He welcomed “the recent dialogue” between the Congolese government and the M23 rebel group which he called “very fruitful by all counts.”

In addition to DRC, Boulos traveled to Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, where talks with the leaders there focused on ongoing international efforts to end the fighting that has killed more than 7,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands more since the beginning of the year. He also met in Paris with Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on route back to the United States.

Boulos was named to the Senior Advisor post on April 1 – two days before departing for Kinshasa. In December, Trump tapped Boulos as his advisor on Arab and Middle Eastern Affairs. Boulos, a Lebanese American and Republican Party fundraiser whose son is married to Trump’s daughter Tiffany, served for three decades as CEO of the SCOA Group, which operates a Lagos-based dealership that assembles and sells automobiles, trucks and construction and mining equipment and is part of the Fadoul Group, founded in Burkina Faso by Zouhair Fadoul, whose daughter, Sara Fadoul Boulos, is married to the senior Boulos.

Boulos said his discussion with Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and other stakeholders in the country focused on security as well as a possible mineral deal between the United States and the DRC. “We’re having a number of discussions with regards to both the investments and the infrastructure that goes with it,” he said. The discussions include the need for reforms to “ensure full transparency,” which he said Tshisekedi promised will be addressed.

“I think it goes without saying U.S. companies will absolutely be the best partners,” he said. “Whatever the U.S. will do in terms of private sector investments and government support, it will absolutely be a win-win proposition.”

The American official reiterated the need to respect Congo’s sovereignty, calling on Rwanda to “cease all military support of M23 and withdraw all Rwandan troops from DRC territory”.  The Trump administration has various tools at its disposal “that it can and will use, if need be” to achieve a “permanent peace” in the region, he said.

The eastern DRC has been embroiled in conflict for decades as various armed groups fight for control of the mineral-rich region. Renewed fighting between Congolese troops and M23 escalated in January 2025, when a rebel advance culminated in the capture of the regional capital Goma. African and Western leaders, as well as the United Nations, have accused Rwanda of backing the rebels. Rwanda denies the claim, saying it has only been involved with efforts to protect its border.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had recent calls with both Rwandan President Paul Kagame and DRC’s Tshisekedi, Boulos said, urging an immediate ceasefire in the region while pressing all parties to respect DR Congo’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In March, Tshisekedi said Congo was open to a mineral deal, expressing hope that that the cooperation could be used to help quell the armed conflict in his country. Congo is the world’s largest producer of cobalt, a mineral vital in the production of batteries for vehicles and smart phones. The U.S. envoy said he and the Congolese President had “charted a path forward” but provided no details. Boosting U.S. private sector investment in the DRC, “particularly in the mining sector”, he said, is a shared goal of both countries, adding that a “stable environment” was needed to make this achievable.

In response to a question during the briefing about Africa “leaning more towards China and Russia”, Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Corina Sanders, who accompanied Boulos on the trip, stressed that the ‘America First’ foreign policy objective of the Trump administration, which encourages investment and enhances “industrial and technology advantages”, will also “serve the African continent well”.