Which African countries will sit at Trump’s table?
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Which African countries will sit at Trump’s table?
Several African countries do form part of President Trump’s plan.
By Leon Louw founder of WhyAfrica and editor of the WhyAfrica magazine
Reading between the lines, early indications are that Africa does form part of President Donald Trump’s plan to make America great again.
Critical minerals and fossil fuels are the big drivers of Trump’s African plan and countries where these natural resources are found in abundance are the big winners.
For now, it seems that Angola, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Botswana and Zambia are focus areas for the Trump administration with several trade deals and agreements already signed and put into place.
America was already invested in these countries before Trump took over from Joe Biden early in 2025. The question since then, however, has been whether Trump will continue building the African plan, or cut all ties.
Botswana a strategic partner
Botswana’s President Duma Boko was one of the first African presidents to meet American Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington in early March. After the meeting Rubio said the strategic partnership between the US and Botswana was extremely important, especially in the areas of trade and regional security.
DRC and Zambia part of the plan
Felix Tshisekedi, president of the DRC offered the US access to its critical minerals in exchange for security assistance in its fight with the M23 rebels in the east of the country. The DRC is the world’s largest producer of cobalt and hosts large deposits of lithium, tantalum and uranium. These resources are integral to US industrial competitiveness and national security.
Meanwhile it has come to light that US company KoBold Metals, backed by billionaires Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, are interested in taking control of the disputed Manono lithium and tin project in the Tanganyika Province in southern DRC.
KoBold Metals is also advancing a large copper project in Zambia’s North-Western Province, close to Angola and the DRC.
The Lobito Corridor in Angola
America’s continues involvement in developing the Lobito Corridor in Angola was confirmed this week when US ambassador in Angola, James Story, led a delegation of more than a dozen, mostly Western envoys on a three-day publicity tour along the rail line, including visits with local politicians.
Under the Biden administration, the US committed about USD4-billion to various projects along the corridor, including refurbishing the rail line, and developing mining and agricultural projects.
Meanwhile, according to various reports, the LNG project in the Rovuma Basin of Mozambique (in which the US is invested) is back on track and should start moving within the next few months.
Which African countries will sit at Trump’s table?
