Trump’s in-law tours Kenya, Great Lakes with eyes on Congo minerals

Massad Boulos, newly appointed senior adviser for Africa at the US State Department, will be visiting Kenya and the Great Lakes region this week in his new role, accompanied by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Corina Sanders, the US State Department announced on Tuesday.

Mr Boulos is the father of Michael Boulos, who is married to Trump’s daughter Tiffany.
He is also senior adviser to the president on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs, with a particular focus on Lebanon—the country he left as a teenager. 

Mr Boulos and Ms Sanders will visit the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda, starting April 3, to meet with heads of state and discuss efforts to reach durable peace in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the State Department said.

“During the trip, Senior Adviser Boulos and the team will meet with Heads of State and business leaders to advance efforts for durable peace in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and to promote US private sector investment in the region,” said a statement by Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.

Observers say Mr Boulos has been assigned to the new position because of the many years he spent in Nigeria, so he “knows the region.”

The Lebanese American businessman is the second in-law to be appointed by Trump to his administration, after Charles Kushner, his daughter Ivanka’s father-in-law, picked to serve as ambassador to France.

Mr Boulos played a key unofficial role in the Trump campaign, helping him court Arab-American and Muslim voters as many of them grew frustrated with the Biden administration over the Israel-Gaza war.

Announcing the appointment then on social media, Trump said Mr Boulos was “instrumental in building tremendous new coalitions with the Arab American community".

He has since worked at his family’s business, a Nigeria-based billion-dollar company that specialises in the distribution of motor vehicles and equipment across West Africa.
Unlike some of Trump's other appointments, Mr Boulos’ advisory role does not require confirmation by the US Senate.

The Trump administration, which has indicated it prioritises transactional relationships, ashift away from multilateral partnerships, with aid, trade, and climate agreements now uncertain. Trump’s focus will be limited to how Africa fits within his broader geopolitical objectives, especially concerning his rivalry with China. 

His interest in Congo is attributed to the country’s mineral wealth, with most of the critical metals for the energy and technological transition found there.

Last month, the State Department said it was amenable to exploring critical mineral partnerships with Kinshasa, after a Congolese senator contacted US officials to pitch a minerals-for-security deal.

DRC, which is rich in cobalt, lithium and uranium among other minerals, has been fighting Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who have seized swathes of its territory this year.

Due to this, the US Treasury recently imposed sanctions on James Kabarebe, Rwanda’s Minister of State for Regional Integration and a former army general. It also sanctioned Lawrence Kanyuka, a political spokesperson for M23, due to their involvement in the activities of M23. 

A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was “open to discussing partnerships in this (mining) sector that are aligned with the Trump Administration's America First Agenda."  

Kinshasa has not publicly detailed a proposal, instead saying it is seeking diversified partnerships.

"There is a desire for us to diversify our partners," Congolese government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said, adding there were "daily exchanges" between Congo and the US.

"If today American investors are interested in coming to the DRC, obviously they will find space ... DRC has reserves that are available and it would also be good if American capital could invest here," he said.

Andre Wameso, deputy chief of staff to Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, travelled to Washington earlier last month for talks on a partnership, two sources told Reuters.

On February 21, a lobbyist representing the Congolese Senator Pierre Kanda Kalambayi sent letters to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other American officials inviting US investment in Congo's vast mineral resources in exchange for helping to reinforce "regional stability".

That initiative was not sanctioned by the broader Congolese government or presidency, according to two Congolese officials. There are, however, several initiatives underway, albeit in nascent stages, sources from Congo's presidency, its ministry of mines, and from Washington told Reuters.

"I think it's certainly something that will pique people's interest in Washington, and I think it has attracted interest," said Jason Stearns, a Congo expert at Canada's Simon Fraser University, noting that Congo's mineral supply chains are currently dominated by China.

But, he said, the US does not have state-owned companies like China does, and no private American mining companies currently operate in Congo.

"So if the Congolese want to make this work, it will probably not be by offering a US company a mining concession. They'll have to look at more complicated ways of engaging the US," he added.