New York.- Democratic Republic of Congo President Félix Tshisekedi has proposed to US President Donald Trump that he grant him access to key minerals for technology companies in exchange for the country's help defeating the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group, according to The Wall Street Journal.
In a letter to Trump on February 8, Tshisekedi offered him mining opportunities for the "sovereign wealth fund" the Republican ordered created days earlier, according to an exclusive report by the US media outlet.
In this letter, the Congolese states that Trump's election as president marks "the beginning of a golden age" for the United States and emphasizes that its partnership with the Congo would provide the country with "a strategic advantage" by securing key minerals such as cobalt, lithium, copper, and tantalum.
The leader of the Democratic Republic of Congo is asking in return for a "formal security pact" to help his army defeat the M23, a group that, according to the UN and countries such as the United States, Germany, and France, has the support of Rwanda.
According to the WSJ, Tshisekedi did not specify what type of military aid he requested from the US in his letter.
The M23 currently controls the capitals of North and South Kivu provinces, bordering Rwanda and rich in minerals such as gold and coltan, essential for the technology industry and mobile phone manufacturing.
Specifically, tantalum—extracted from coltan—and cobalt are key minerals used by tech giants like Apple, HP, and Intel.
A spokeswoman for the Congolese president told the newspaper that both his country and the United States have an interest "in having American companies, like Apple and Tesla, purchase minerals directly from Congo and unlock the power of our mineral wealth for the benefit of the entire world."
You can read: Army arrests 25 undocumented Haitians and three Dominicans who were transporting them
The WSJ reports that the letter was sent by a banker who advises mining companies in the Congo to Trump's office, which forwarded it to the White House National Security Council.
Just on Tuesday, Tshisekedi met with Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Qatar, where, according to the governments of the three countries, they discussed the M23 conflict in eastern Congo and reaffirmed their commitment "to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire."
