![[Kenya] Digital credit provider Tala disbursed Sh240 billion in loans in eight years](https://theafricanbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/TALA-APP-360x180.jpg "[Kenya] Digital credit provider Tala disbursed Sh240 billion in loans in eight years 19")
The United States proposed the expansion of the Lobito Corridor to the conflict region as an incentive for a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), but Rwanda rejected the expansion plan.
Just days before leaving the White House, the Biden administration announced that the U.S. had proposed extending the Lobito Corridor to the conflict region as a way to encourage peace between Rwanda and the DRC.
According to the U.S., Rwanda did not approve of the idea and rejected the expansion plan. Rwandan President Paul Kagame did not participate in peace talks mediated by Angola during Joe Biden’s visit to the country last December.
For political analyst Alex Vines, Rwanda’s position is not surprising. “It’s not surprising that Rwanda backed out, as it would not be interested in diverting trade through its own borders to East Africa. Therefore, it was a deceptive incentive, which could have been counterproductive,” he states.
Dispute Over Access to the Lobito Corridor
The trade of valuable raw materials in the region is growing, as are transport infrastructure projects. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that the demand for nickel and cobalt will increase twentyfold between 2020 and 2040.
This anticipated surge in demand has sparked great interest in the Lobito Corridor, leading to inevitable competition for access. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the world’s largest producer of cobalt, is at the center of this competition, along with Zambia, which is also affected.
For Evans Chabala, from the African Policy Research Institute, the U.S. proposal “doesn’t make sense,” questioning, “Why would a trader want to transport goods on a line rapidly extending from east to west across the DRC, especially in a conflict zone, before entering Angola through the Lobito port?”
The analyst also sees no benefits for Rwanda’s President, “because if Kagame were involved in the conflict in eastern DRC and accessing mining products from there, I doubt he would want to place them on a transport corridor crossing the entire DRC. He would want them out of the country as quickly as possible.”
According to Chabala, it would be more efficient for the Rwandan president to use Tanzania’s standard gauge railway, which runs from Dar es Salaam to the capital, Dodoma, and extend it to Kigali.
In any case, the analyst believes Joe Biden’s plan is not feasible, especially since it is unlikely that Donald Trump’s new administration will pursue it.
The Lobito Corridor comprises a 1,300 km railway line that stretches from Angola’s Lobito port to the mineral-rich areas of the DRC and Zambia.
