Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Liberian Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti have held talks in Washington<\/p>\n
The US has discussed expanding its investment in Liberia, including greater participation in the West African country\u2019s critical minerals sector, the State Department said Friday.
\nSecretary of State Marco Rubio and Liberian Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti held talks in Washington on Thursday that focused on deepening bilateral ties, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said.
\n\u201cThe meeting explored avenues for expanding US participation in Liberia\u2019s critical minerals sector with the aim of creating jobs and economic growth in both the United States and Liberia,\u201d he stated.
\nRubio hailed the ongoing work of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a US government development agency, that in 2021 closed a $257 million compact on electricity and roads with the Liberian government.
\nAfrica\u2019s oldest republic, a commodity-dependent economy and an exporter of iron ore and rubber, Liberia has sought increased investment in mining and infrastructure after the discovery of uranium, lithium, cobalt, manganese, and neodymium deposits.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Trump\u2019s African outreach is a facade \u2013 Liberian activist<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, Liberian President Joseph Boakai said the country expects to attract $3 billion in investment following the new mineral finds, which he said were identified through studies conducted over five decades and funded by China.
\nIn July, US President Donald Trump hosted five African leaders, including Boakai, at the White House for talks on economic partnerships.
\nHowever, Liberian civil rights activist Emmanuel Gonquoi told RT the meeting was part of a \u201ccolonial package\u201d that rebrands imperialism as economic cooperation. He said Trump is more interested in exploiting Africa\u2019s resources than in building genuine partnerships with the continent.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
US \u2018peace\u2019 in Doha comes with extraction rights attached<\/p>\n
The US has faced criticism over its pursuit of critical-mineral deals in Africa in recent years. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Trump has said a security agreement mediated by his administration would grant Washington access to Congo\u2019s cobalt and copper in exchange for support for ending a deadly conflict between Kinshasa and rebels. Analysts have warned such arrangements raise transparency and sovereignty concerns.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Liberian Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti have held talks in Washington The US has discussed expanding its investment in Liberia, including greater participation in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20826,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t