December 2025
The United States Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Lucy Tamlyn, vigorously rejected accusations of “selling off” Congolese mineral resources, during an exchange with the press on Monday 15 December 2025 in Kinshasa.
She presented the Washington agreement as a balanced strategic partnership, based on mutual interests and focused on critical minerals essential to American industry and national security.
“The Washington agreement has several components,” explained the American diplomat. “It first includes a framework between the DRC and Rwanda, in which the United States plays a mediation role. It then includes bilateral agreements concluded directly with the DRC, designed in a win-win partnership logic. The benefits are real, both for the Congolese side and for the American side.”
Lucy Tamlyn insisted on the strategic importance of critical minerals – notably cobalt, copper and coltan – of which the DRC has an abundance.
“We have been clear from the start: the United States seeks to secure reliable supply chains for resources indispensable to our industries and our national defence. It is with this in mind that we concluded an agreement with the DRC, which provides for direct American investments on Congolese soil,” she specified.
This agreement is part of a context in which the DRC is seeking to increase the added value of its mineral resources, beyond the export of raw materials. It remains to be seen how these commitments will translate concretely into structuring projects and tangible economic spin-offs for local communities.
She reframes the debate after Donald Trump’s statements on minerals.
By the Editorial Tea
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