Executive Branch

Trump Highlights US Policy Shift From Aid to Trade in Summit With African Leaders

The U.S. president said his strategy of focusing on trade over aid would prove ‘far more effective and sustainable’ in the long run.
Trump Highlights US Policy Shift From Aid to Trade in Summit With African Leaders
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a multilateral lunch with African leaders in the State Dining Room of the White House on July 9, 2025. The leaders of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal met with Trump during the luncheon. Win McNamee/Getty Images
Emel Akan
Emel Akan
Reporter
|Updated:
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WASHINGTON—U.S. President Donald Trump met with the leaders of five West and Central African nations at the White House on July 9 to underscore his administration’s shift from aid-based foreign policy to commercial diplomacy. The meeting focused on strengthening economic ties, attracting investments, and tapping into Africa’s vast mineral wealth.

The president hosted a multilateral lunch with the leaders of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, and Senegal in the State Dining Room.

Emel Akan
Emel Akan
Reporter
Emel Akan is a senior White House correspondent for The Epoch Times, where she covers the policies of the Trump administration. Previously, she reported on the Biden administration and the first term of President Trump. Before her journalism career, she worked in investment banking at JPMorgan. She holds an MBA from Georgetown University.
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