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BY Kofi Oppong Kyekyeku, 1:24pm July 09, 2025,

Not just a visit: Why Trump is hosting five African leaders at the White House

by Kofi Oppong Kyekyeku, 1:24pm July 09, 2025,
President Donald Trump
President Donald Trump - Photo credit: Gage Skidmore

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to host the leaders of five African nations in a summit the White House is touting as a strategic commercial opportunity rather than a diplomatic gesture.

Over the next three days, the presidents of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal, countries with modest economies but rich in resources, will sit down with Trump in Washington to discuss trade, migration, security, and minerals.

The summit stresses Trump’s “trade over aid” philosophy and comes amid growing global competition over Africa’s critical mineral reserves. Each of the visiting nations currently faces a 10% tariff on exports to the U.S., a sticking point that will likely surface in negotiations.

READ ALSO: ‘At the right time, we’ll take action’ – Ghana’s Vice President warns of response to Trump’s USAID cuts

Discussions are expected to span a range of topics, from maritime security in the piracy-prone Gulf of Guinea, to the management of deportees and illegal migration routes, to potential U.S. military expansion on the continent.

“Guinea-Bissau has now emerged from a state of disorder to become a real state,” said President Umaro Sissoko Embaló. “The Americans do not invite just any state to their country—only a well-structured state.”

Trump’s invitation, according to analysts, signals a shift from traditional U.S. priorities of poverty reduction and development to transactional, resource-focused diplomacy. The Biden-era African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which granted African nations duty-free access to U.S. markets, is set to expire, and its renewal remains uncertain under Trump’s administration.

“It’s not like before with the Democrats,” Babacar Diagne, Senegal’s former ambassador to Washington told the BBC. “There were two strong points with them: poverty reduction and development issues, through Agoa and other initiatives. All that is over.”

Diagne added that Trump’s strategy mimics his dealings with wartime Ukraine: “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.”

Indeed, all five invited nations hold strategic importance, particularly Gabon, which holds about 25% of the world’s known manganese reserves and supplies 22% of China’s manganese. Gabon’s coastline also makes it a potential host for a future U.S. military base in the Gulf of Guinea.

“All these [invited] countries have important minerals: gold, oil, manganese, gas, wood and zircon—Senegal, Mauritania and Gabon, in particular,” said Nicaise Mouloumbi, head of a Gabonese NGO.

READ ALSO: Ghana’s President Mahama unveils new task force to fight illegal mining and smuggling

Migration is another key topic. Mauritania and Senegal are major points of departure for African migrants heading to the Americas via Central America. Ousmane Sene, director of the West African Research Centre, pointed out: “Between 2023 and 2025, no fewer than 20,000 young Mauritanians left for the US via Nicaragua, along with hundreds of young Senegalese.”

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“That’s an extremely important point in his [Trump’s] migration policy, and every day people are turned back at the borders,” he added.

Visa overstay rates will also likely be discussed, especially for Gabon and Liberia, which both exceed the rate of Burundi, a country recently hit with U.S. travel restrictions due to overstays.

Diplomatic normalization with Israel could become another bargaining chip. Mauritania remains the only invited country that has not re-established ties with Israel after severing them in 2009 during a Gaza conflict. Sources suggest this may be a sticking point in any potential deal.

Liberia is reportedly in talks to accept U.S. deportees, including criminal offenders, as part of a broader migration agreement. The country’s longstanding historical ties to the U.S. may give it a unique angle in negotiations.

Meanwhile, Guinea-Bissau hopes the summit will help reopen its U.S. embassy, closed since a 1998 military mutiny. The once-labeled “narco-state” is eager to shed its troubled image.

This week’s gathering comes just weeks after an Oval Office meeting between Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, which ended in tension. Days later, Trump imposed a 30% tariff on South African exports, a warning that for Trump, deals must come with concessions.

Now, with resource deals, deportation agreements, and military cooperation potentially on the table, the five African leaders arrive in Washington hoping to avoid a similar fate, and strike terms more favorable to their national interests.

READ ALSO: South Sudan confirms custody of 8 men deported by U.S. following Supreme Court ruling

Last Edited by:Kofi Oppong Kyekyeku Updated: July 9, 2025

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