AKP Phnom Penh, 10 July, 2025--
U.S. President Donald Trump met with leaders from five African nations on Wednesday, noting the United States is shifting its policy toward the continent "from aid to trade."

Meeting with the leaders of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal at the White House, Trump said there was "great economic potential in Africa."

He said the United States was working to "forge new economic opportunities involving both the United States and many African nations."

"We're shifting from aid to trade," Trump said. "In the long run this will be far more effective and sustainable and beneficial than anything else that we could be doing together."

Trump also suggested that the five countries may be exempt from his administration's plan to impose heightened reciprocal tariffs beginning in August.

The mini-summit is scheduled to run for three days, with the expansion of U.S. access to critical minerals and other natural resources in Africa expected to top the agenda, according to media reports.

AKP-Xinhua