Welcome to Foreign Policy’s Africa Brief.

The highlights this week: U.S. President Donald Trump hosts a surprise African leaders’ summit in Washington, anti-government protests turn deadly in Kenya, and Nigerian ride-hailing start-up Moove eyes the U.S. market.

Welcome to Foreign Policy’s Africa Brief.

The highlights this week: U.S. President Donald Trump hosts a surprise African leaders’ summit in Washington, anti-government protests turn deadly in Kenya, and Nigerian ride-hailing start-up Moove eyes the U.S. market.

By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.

✓ Signed Up

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to host leaders from Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal for lunch at the White House today. Analysts expect the surprise mini summit to focus on trade, security, migration, and critical minerals.

Although the Trump administration has largely withdrawn from Africa, cutting aid and issuing visa bans on several countries, it’s clear that the United States is still prioritizing ties with some African nations, particularly as it seeks to compete with China on critical minerals.

“Trade, not aid, a slogan we’ve seen thrown around for years, is now truly our policy for Africa,” Troy Fitrell, Trump’s outgoing top Africa diplomat, said in May.

The administration’s strategy on the continent has been influenced by Massad Boulos, Trump’s senior Africa advisor, who is the father-in-law to one of the president’s daughters. Boulos is credited with negotiating the terms of a recent peace deal between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which could bring about more U.S. investments in the latter’s critical minerals sector.

The Central and West African nations attending Trump’s summit may have relatively small GDPs, but they are rich in untapped rare earths and critical minerals, including manganese, bauxite, and copper. These reserves provide fresh opportunities for U.S. businesses in African nations where China does not already have a monopoly on the mining sector.

In theory, focusing on these smaller nations is a smart move for the Trump administration. In practice, the success of these talks depends on how much private U.S. companies are prepared to invest in mining in these countries.

So far, Western companies have shied away from operations in the Sahel—where several of the summit’s countries are located—due to ongoing Islamist insurgencies. Instead, these companies have invested in established minerals industries in countries such as Zambia and South Africa with better security guarantees.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military has been forced to withdraw from the Sahel, where it........

© Foreign Policy