President Trump met with five African leaders at the White House on 9 July 2025.
Senegal, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, and Gabon are West African nations that are part of the summit.
With a focus on mutual economic benefits, Trump outlined the goal of shifting from aid to commerce.
President Trump praised the visiting leaders and emphasised the importance of strengthening trade ties with Guinea-Bissau, Gabon, Senegal, Liberia, and Mauritania, the countries that are part of the summit.
PRESIDENTS PROMOTE MINERAL RESOURCES
Each president highlighted the country’s untapped natural resources during the luncheon.
The Mauritanian President, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, identified lithium, manganese, and uranium as essential resources.
In addition to supporting industrialisation, President Brice Oligui Nguema highlighted the need for energy infrastructure and argued for US investment in Gabon’s mineral processing sector.
President Trump praised the visiting leaders and described their countries as “vibrant places” with “very valuable land” and “great mineral wealth”.
SECURITY AND MIGRATION ON AGENDA
Migration and drug trafficking were strategic issues for the US government.
Guinea-Bissau and Senegal are vital transit countries for routes used by drug and migration traffickers.
One of the many components of current US policy for Liberians living in the United States is the Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) extension, which temporarily delays deportation and is a discretionary presidential directive and not a regulation.
Former President Biden issued a memorandum on 28 June 2024, extending the DED for eligible Liberians until 30 June 2026.
Until then, eligible Liberian nationals and stateless individuals who last habitually resided in Liberia have protections from deportation under the Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) policy.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration recently extradited drug traffickers from Guinea-Bissau to face penalties.
In addition, President Trump emphasised using trade as a diplomatic tool to reduce violence and instability in the region.
Furthermore, the leaders expressed their support for American peace efforts in Rwanda and the DR Congo.
AID CUTS AND POLITICAL CONTROVERSY
The summit follows the closure of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), ending US foreign aid to Africa.
USAID previously accounted for approximately 2.6% of Liberia’s gross national income (GNI), the highest aid to GNI ratio globally.
According to a University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) global health impact analysis that was published in The Lancet, the termination of USAID programmes could result in more than 14 million needless deaths worldwide by 2030.
Over 4.5 million children under five are among the 133 low- and middle-income countries heavily dependent on US foreign aid.
Moreover, Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embaló remains in office, with his five-year term constitutionally set to expire in September 2025.
Former Gabon leader Ali Bongo Ondimba faces corruption allegations after the coup in 2023 that installed General Brice Oligui Nguema as the country’s leader.
During the lunch, President Trump focused on trade and investment, without publicly addressing governance, democracy, or human rights.
HOW MIGHT THE SUMMIT SHAPE U.S. STRATEGIC LEVERAGE IN WEST AFRICA?
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