The trip signals a seismic shift in the Trump administration’s agenda for the African continent
By Kemi Osukoya
April 1, 2025
The State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce announced Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s Senior Advisor for Africa Massad Fares Boulos and Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Corina Sanders will travel to East Africa this week, with stops in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
During the four-nation tour across East Africa, Boulos—a Lebanese-American businessman who also happens to be the father-in-law of President Trump, and Deputy Asst. Secretary Sanders will engage with African leaders from the East African region on mutual global and regional issues, including finding a permanent ceasefire agreement to the ongoing conflict between Rwanda and DRC as well as to promote U.S. investment interests.
The trip signals a seismic shift in the Trump administration’s agenda for the African continent, from rooting out global terrorist insurgencies that are harboring in the East African region and elsewhere on the continent to now jump-starting both the American public and private sector trade and business relationship agenda.
It’s a similar playbook used during the Trump 1.0 administration, except now there seems to be a more disciplined prudence agenda and approach to engaging effectively with the continent to significantly diminish China and other global competitors’ influence in the region.
Africa has become the epicenter for both critical raw minerals business trades as well as for human capital resources and innovations, boasting more than 70% of the world’s critical raw minerals, including cobalt and lithium needed to power everyday technologies that the world relies on.
Based on population growth, the African continent also holds the largest number of youths, which means the global future workforce as well as innovations will come from the continent.
Africa has become the epicenter for both critical raw minerals business trades as well as for human capital resources and innovations, boasting more than 70% of the world’s critical raw minerals
Experts see this as an opportunity for the continent. For the first time in decades, conceivably since nations on the continent began gaining independence from their British and European colonizers, these inherent organic advantages—human capital surplus and large critical raw materials needed by the rest of the world, put Africans and African leaders in the driving seats or at the head of the negotiating tables so to speak, if they play their cards right.
Matured economies, including in the U.S., Europe, and Asia have all taken notice of these organic attributes and have thrown out their old trading playbooks for a more refined, respectful, and mutually beneficial approach to Africa.
While the White House is yet to announce which African Head of State will be invited first to meet with President Donald Trump for an Oval Office meeting, American top diplomat, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been in communications with several African leaders, including hosting two African Heads of State: Egyptian President El-Sisi and Botswana President Duma Boko, respectively at the State Department.
As part of strengthening U.S. engagement with African nations, last week, Secretary Rubio also spoke with President William S. Ruto of Kenya and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
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According to the State Department spokesperson, the Secretary thanked President Ruto for Kenya’s leadership on regional peace and security and discussed recent developments in Somalia and South Sudan. They also discussed the need to end ongoing conflicts in eastern DRC and Sudan.
In his talk with Prime Minister Abiy, they discussed strengthening the bilateral relations around mutual priorities, including stability in the Horn of Africa. The Secretary also reaffirmed US support for a peaceful and prosperous Ethiopia.
