Why US plan for DR Congo question good for US, not Kishasha

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OPINION

By Alan Collins Mpewo

Massad Boulos, the United States (US) senior advisor for Africa, was on Thursday, April 17, 2025, introduced in style. Or did he introduce himself in style? The entrance into the role in Africa is the most interesting because he was introduced at a time when a lot is happening globally, but importantly, the Democratic Republic of Congo – the raging war between DR Congo government in Kinshasa, the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel faction.

He started the introduction by highlighting US concerns towards DR Congo under Trump, before unveiling the grand plan his country has for not only DR Congo, but the East African region, with “America first.” Massad Boulos is yet another visitor in DR Congo. His visit will be a strategic entrance that will have long-standing effects with the understanding of today’s contemporary matters. He made it clear that the US is pro-peace and only looks forward towards the peaceful existence of the East African region, to which DR Congo is instrumental because of the effects it poses to the global economy if the war continues.

Addressing African media and researchers, Massad Boulos, unveiled the US grand plan for the DR Congo, stating that the US calls upon M23 to withdraw its operations from the country, adding that Rwanda should cease, with immediate effect, funding of the M23 rebels. He maintained the allegation of Rwanda backing the M23 rebels in DR Congo throughout his communications, an indicator of the US position on the conflict.

The US might have become another official Rwanda diplomatic enemy in light of Rwanda’s reaction to other countries that have openly stated their opposing positions towards Rwanda. Massad Boulos intimated how he has been on a busy schedule in the past weeks on the African continent, meeting, among others, the current head of the East African Community, H.E William Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya, Rwandan President Paul Kagame and officials in Kampala.

DR Congo is one such country that will never run out of ‘friends’. History has shown that, and the keen observers know that this ‘friendship’ has been posited on various factors, but mineral wealth. Looked at closely, DR Congo has been having the conflict ongoing for a long time, with M23-Rwanda-DR Congo occasionally making headlines in regional body discussions like the EAC, SADC, and African Union, and internationally to the United Nations Assembly.

Now that the US withdrew, fulfilling much of its obligations to the UN, all eyes are on Massad Boulos’s grand plan. With diplomacy during war, intentions are advised to be reviewed from beneath rather than from the onset. Afghanistan and Ukraine are world examples whose mention of US involvement will never be erased. Massad Boulos noted that peace in DR Congo will be beneficial for every nation globally, but with a major focus on economic stability. No doubts about that.

But the eye-opener of Massad Boulos’s highlights was that there are companies of US origin whose operations were affected by the advances of the M23. He called for a win-win diplomatic conversation among key players, as a stairway for US companies to make penetration into the DR Congo markets.

In the various analyses by the Development Watch Centre regarding the DR Congo question, what has been maintained is the need for honest diplomacy in the bid to achieve long-lasting peace in DR Congo. It is therefore shocking to wonder what makes Massad Boulos think that the questionable US economic diplomacy will be the key to unlocking the much sought peace in DR Congo.

The EAC and SADC, not so long ago, had their armies in DR Congo, both having later withdrawn due to various geopolitical realities. The new African Union Secretariat has been on a spree of talks for the concerned parties in the ongoing war. The United Nations Security Council has before it ongoing discussions with China’s backed Global Security Initiative framework lingering for realising long-lasting peace.

But Massad Boulos believes the US can pull off the magic of the century in the DR Congo. History laughs in the face of any such plans. The US now faces much criticism under the Trump administration because of its foreign policy. It therefore goes without saying how interesting it is that Massad Boulos intends to solve the DR Congo question by engaging countries that the US imposed tariffs on, and suspended from AGOA, while using an economic policy of laying a foundation for US private sector investment into the region. But it is not surprising because of the growing list of allies the US is losing by the day.

The US and Ukraine deal on rare earth stands at great risk, China has recently reciprocated tariffs on some rare earth that the US has been benefiting from, the European Union is on guard, and what a way to seek a solution, but from a war-stricken DR Congo. Massad Boulos, just like his bosses in Washington DC is aware of the US steady decline of influence globally, and for long, Africa had been neglected on its radar.

Now, with the East refusing to bend the knee and growing economic uncertainties, DR Congo has been pointed to as the antidote. But certainly, peace will not be achieved in DR Congo through such an entrance as highlighted by Massad Boulos. In fact, it is not about peace, but a sleek of grip on Africa’s mineral cradle Washington badly needs.

Alan Collins Mpewo, is a Senior Research Fellow, Development Watch Centre