Kenya is close to agreeing a critical minerals deal with Washington, its president said on the sidelines of the G7 summit. William Ruto told Reuters that minerals would be processed in Kenya as part of the agreement, while calling for a wider reset of ties between Western countries and Africa to move beyond exporting raw materials.
Kenya has large, untapped deposits of minerals required to build infrastructure for renewable energy and digital infrastructure, including copper, graphite, lithium, and nickel. The agreement is part of Washington’s attempt to break China’s dominance of critical mineral supply chains.
Ruto has burnished his ties with Western leaders. Last month, Nairobi hosted a summit at which French President Emmanuel Macron announced investments worth $27 billion across Africa. But Ruto’s efforts to forge closer ties with Washington have dented his popularity at home ahead of an election next year, in which he will seek a second term. Anger is growing in Kenya over his support for the construction of a US Ebola quarantine facility, with his critics accusing him of capitulating to American interests over those of Kenyan citizens.