The Democratic Republic of Congo has called on the United States to deliver concrete investment under their strategic minerals partnership, saying the agreement’s success should be measured by completed projects rather than signed deals. Economy Minister Daniel Mukoko Samba made the remarks in a post on X after the second meeting of the joint steering committee overseeing the partnership, held in Paris.
Washington and Kinshasa signed the strategic minerals partnership in 2025, on December 4, to expand US access to Congo’s copper, cobalt and other critical mineral resources in exchange for investment in mining, infrastructure and support for stability in the conflict hit east. Under the agreement, US companies receive preferential opportunities to compete for assets in Congo’s Strategic Asset Reserve, including a right of first offer with an exclusive negotiation window before projects are opened to other aligned investors.
Mukoko Samba said the two sides reviewed progress on priority projects including the Lobito Corridor railway, the Grand Inga hydropower project, efforts to channel more Congolese copper and cobalt to the US market, and reforms to Congo’s fiscal framework. The Congolese presidency has put the indicative cost of the Congolese railway concession within the Lobito programme at about $1.26 billion; that figure is a project cost estimate, not a new US funding commitment, and the Paris meeting announced no new American investment amount.
“Our requirement is to move from signed agreements to real investments,” Mukoko Samba said, adding that Congo wants the partnership to support local mineral processing, electricity access for households and businesses, and peace in the east. Mines Minister Louis Watum Kabamba emphasised job creation and skills transfer. Congo is the world’s largest cobalt producer and its second largest copper producer, which is what makes it central to Washington’s push to reduce dependence on Chinese dominated mineral supply chains. The test Kinshasa has now set is whether the DFC briefed pipeline converts into named, financed projects.