Africa: Trump is shifting from aid to trade; Working hard to stop wars – Aides

Say: Sudan war is world’s worst humanitarian crisis

….What juntas, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Niger, should do

President Donald Trump of the United States (US) is delivering on his promise of policy shift from aid to trade, and is working tirelessly to bring lasting peace to conflict areas of the world, especially in Africa, the Middle East and beyond.

US Senior Advisor for Africa, Massad Boulos, and the Senior Bureau Official for the Bureau of African Affairs, Ambassador Jonathan Pratt, said these during a media briefing at the New York Foreign Press Center (NYFPC) on Thursday, September 25, 2025, held on the sidelines of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA80).

They noted that since the inception of the Trump administration, there have been major engagements between US government officials and companies on the one hand and African governments and other collaborators, leading to major investments in different sectors in these countries, ranging from energy, to oil and gas, minerals, agriculture, power, aviation and other infrastructures.

Boulos cited as examples the huge investment of about $10billion in an international airport in Ethiopia, expected to be the biggest in the continent when completed, and other major investments and contracts in Algeria, Morocco, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique and other countries in Africa.

He said that the engagements and investments were evidence of Trump’s desire to work more closely with African countries, noting also the success of the US-Africa Business Summit held in Luanda, Angola in June this year, and the upcoming 2026 edition, to be hosted by Mauritius, all aimed at further strengthening the trade and investment relationship between the United States and Africa.

The senior officials, at the briefing, which centered primarily on “Advancing Trump Administration Priorities in Sub-Saharan Africa,” also stressed the efforts of the administration in the area of resolution of long running conflicts in the continent, especially the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) versus Rwanda conflict, the M23 versus DRC war, the Sudan conflict, which Boulos described as the world’s worst but least reported humanitarian crisis, the conflict in the Horn of Africa and the crisis in Libya.

Boulos stressed that credit for the successes recorded so far in resolving these complex conflicts must go to President Trump, who he said, has a personal interest in stopping the killing of millions of people which have gone on for more than three decades, as in the case of DRC versus Rwanda.

He acknowledged the contributions of other partner countries and organizations like Qatar, Italy, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirate (UAE), Egypt, the African Union (AU), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the World Food Program (WFP) to the resolution of the conflicts and addressing the humanitarian crises.

He stressed that they, the US officials who are in the theater of the conflicts seeking resolution of the crises are, according to the mandate of President Trump, working very hard to bring lasting peace to the war-torn areas, pointing out that as efforts are being made on the political front, efforts are also being made to ensure that food gets to the areas most in need of humanitarian assistance.

The top officials also spoke extensively on the Trump administration’s efforts in the area of counter-terrorism, assuring that requisite equipment and training were being made available, while partnerships are being forged or reinforced. They noted that the appointment of a new Commander for the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), General Dagvin Anderson, is boosting the efforts of the administration in this regard.

On the administration’s disposition towards the countries in West Africa that are under military rule – Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Niger – they said whereas it is the policy of the government not to interfere in the internal affairs of other nations, the example of Gabon, which has, after a military coup, transitioned to a democracy following some reforms and presidential election, is instructive and should be emulated, for them to have better relations with the US..