WASHINGTON D.C., United States — U.S. President Donald Trump is set to convene with the leaders of five African nations – Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal – in a three-day summit the White House has characterized as an “incredible” commercial opportunity.
Notably, these invited nations do not represent the continent’s largest economies, signaling a distinct focus in the Trump administration’s engagement with Africa.
The summit is anticipated to heavily emphasize President Trump’s “trade, not aid” policy. With all five countries currently facing a 10% tariff on goods exported to the U.S., their leaders are likely hoping to negotiate a reduction in this rate through new deals.
Potential agreements on the table include access to critical minerals, enhanced maritime security cooperation, addressing migration challenges, and discussions around hosting deportees.
With the exception of Gabon, the invited countries lie along key routes utilized by migrants, as well as drug traffickers originating from Latin America.
Discussions are also expected to cover collaborative efforts in tackling the southward spread of Islamist insurgencies that threaten their inland neighbors.
Earlier this year, General Michael Langley, head of the U.S. Africa Command (Africom), warned that a new objective for jihadist groups was gaining access to West Africa’s coast, a development that also raised “the chance of threats reaching US shores.”
A paradigm shift in US policy
Ambassador Babacar Diagne, Senegal’s former envoy to Washington, commented that the invitations to these specific African leaders reflect a recent “paradigm shift” in US policy towards the continent.
Following his second inauguration in January, President Trump implemented cuts to US aid across Africa, deeming it wasteful and incompatible with his “America First” policy.
Uncertainty also surrounds the renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) later this year, which currently guarantees duty-free access for certain African goods to the U.S. “It’s not like before with the Democrats. There were two strong points with them: poverty reduction and development issues, through Agoa and other initiatives. All that is over,” Mr. Diagne said.
According to the former diplomat, the Trump administration’s stance on Africa will mirror its transactional approach seen in its dealings with Ukraine’s wartime leader, Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Pure trade. It’s give and take, win and win. We saw it with Ukraine. You sign the agreement on minerals and you’ll have us on your side, otherwise, you forget everything,” Mr. Diagne elaborated.
Resource competition and strategic interests
Nicaise Mouloumbi, head of a prominent non-governmental organization in oil-rich Gabon, echoed this sentiment, suggesting that the Trump administration’s increased focus on Africa stems from intensifying competition with rival powers, notably China and Russia, for the continent’s prized resources.
“All these [invited] countries have important minerals: gold, oil, manganese, gas, wood and zircon – Senegal, Mauritania and Gabon, in particular,” Mr. Mouloumbi said.
Gabon, in particular, holds approximately a quarter of the world’s known manganese reserves and supplies 22% of China’s manganese, a mineral crucial for batteries and stainless steel production.
Mr. Mouloumbi added that the U.S. might be particularly keen to strengthen ties with Gabon not only due to its “strategic” minerals like manganese and uranium, and oil, but also its strategic location along the Gulf of Guinea, boasting an 800km (500 miles) coastline.
This position could potentially host a planned U.S. military base in the region. Mr. Diagne similarly highlighted that “maritime terrorism in the Gulf of Guinea has become an extremely important issue” for the U.S., a region traversed by numerous oil and gas tankers and known for piracy.
Migration and geopolitical considerations
For Mauritania and Senegal, migration will be a central point of discussion, according to Ousmane Sene, head of the West African Research Centre (WARC). “Let’s not forget that between 2023 and 2025, no fewer than 20,000 young Mauritanians left for the US via Nicaragua, along with hundreds of young Senegalese,” the analyst told Vivid Voice News.
He added, “All these countries are also departure points for illegal emigration. That’s an extremely important point in his [Trump’s] migration policy, and every day people are turned back at the borders.”
Beyond economic and security concerns, geopolitical factors also play a role. Mauritania is the only one of the five invited countries that currently lacks diplomatic ties with US ally Israel, having severed them in 2009 over a conflict in Gaza.
Sources indicate that restoring these ties could be a significant point of negotiation in any potential White House deal.
Visa overstay rates are another issue requiring resolution, particularly for Gabon and Liberia, both of which have higher rates than Burundi, a country recently subjected to US travel restrictions due to visa overstays.
Liberia, with its close historical links to America, may also be considering a US proposal to accept deported individuals, including criminals. The nation, still recovering from a 14-year civil war and the devastating Ebola epidemic a decade ago, is in desperate need of financial assistance, having been severely impacted by US aid cuts, particularly affecting its fragile health system, which relied on US funding for 48% of its budget.
Guinea-Bissau, a country marked by a history of coups, is reportedly eager for the US embassy to reopen in Bissau, after its closure following a 1998 army mutiny.
Also Read: Trump administration plans closing nearly 30 US embassies – over half located in Africa
President Umaro Cissoko Embaló expressed pride in his country’s White House invitation, particularly given its past designation as a “narco-state” by the US and UN due to its role as a major cocaine transit hub.
“Guinea-Bissau has now emerged from a state of disorder to become a real state. The Americans do not invite just any state to their country – only a well-structured state,” he was quoted as saying before his departure for Washington.
President Embaló and his counterparts—Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema of Gabon, Joseph Boakai of Liberia, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of Mauritania, and Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Senegal—will undoubtedly be strategizing how to leverage their positions to secure favorable deals with President Trump.
They are keen to avoid a repeat of May’s high-stakes meeting between South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Trump in the Oval Office, which failed to improve relations and notably resulted in a 30% tariff being imposed on South Africa’s exports to the U.S. starting next month.
