Monrovia – FrontPage Africa has learned that top aides to President Joseph Boakai were divided over a hastily planned trip to Qatar for a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, ultimately prompting the President to cancel the visit. According to sources, the meeting was being arranged by Robert M. Friedland, Founder and Executive Co-Chairman of Ivanhoe Mines and founder of I-Pulse, the majority shareholder in Ivanhoe Atlantic. The aborted engagement comes amid ongoing negotiations over access to the Yekepa-to-Buchanan railway and the proposed Liberty Corridor investment by High Power Exploration (HPX).
Aides opposed to the HPX deal argued that it was both unreasonable and undiplomatic for the President to travel to Qatar without an official invitation from the host country. They contended that a meeting of such significance should take place at the White House, not in an informal or hastily arranged setting that, in their view, would yield no meaningful results.
Critics also accused Ivanhoe of exploiting its connections in the United States to exert pressure on the Liberian government and to gain an unfair advantage over competing interests.
President Donald Trump is currently on his first official state visit to the Middle East, where he has already visited Saudi Arabia, the Gulf State of Qatar and now heading to the United Emirates. In a video posted by Ivanhoe Liberia’s officials, Friedland can be seen greeting Trump and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.
Top insiders say the Facebook video is an attempt to intimidate the government. Contrary to perception that Friedland was a member of Trump’s delegation, it is alleged that it was Friedland’s first meeting with Trump, and he was not a member of Trump’s delegation as he was invited by a Saudi businessman.
Officials says Ivanhoe Atlantic, former HPX is using the Friedland’s ties with United States to force the government to sign the agreement granting access to the rail.
So, when HPX made a pitch to Sylvester Grigsby, Minister of for Presidential Affairs and others in the Executive Mansion that they could arrange for Boakai to meet Trump during Trump’s Mideast east tour, some official vehemently disagreed.
“How can a president travel to another country without an invitation from that country’s political leadership or involvement of the foreign ministry? The only president in Saudi is the Syrian president,” a top aide, seeking anonymity said.
There have been intense negotiations over the access to the Yekepa-Buchanan railway, which has been refurbished and operated by ArcelorMittal in line with the Mineral Development Agreement with the government of Liberia. HPX, now Ivanhoe wants full access to this rail to transport its iron ore from Guinea to the Port of Buchanan, but is pushing the government to strip Arcelor Mittal for its operator right and set up an independent operator to manage the rail; something Mittal said is in gross breach of its existing mineral development agreement.
But FPA gathered that, Grigsby reportedly promised that a 2-5 minute “meet and greet” with Trump could have been used as political leverage to justify granting HPX unrestricted access to Yekepa-Buchanan railway even though HPX has invested nothing in the infrastructure and such an agreement would directly contradict Liberia’s binding mineral development agreement with ArcelorMittal.
Grigsby is said to be aggressively pushing the narrative that HPX’s rail access demand aligns with “U.S. strategic interest,” reportedly warning the President that failing to comply could result in political consequences from Washington.
“He’s on a reckless propaganda designed to manipulate presidential decision-making through fear and misinformation. Clearly the old man (Grisby) is benefit from all he’s doing for HPX”, the source stated.
The Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs is yet to respond to these allegations.
AML’s investment
ArcelorMittal has invested over $1.2 billion in Liberia, with more than $500 million dedicated to the rehabilitation and operation of the Yekepa-Buchanan rail and port infrastructure.
Officials say Under the 2013 amended MDA signed and endorsed by the Liberian government, ArcelorMittal holds the operator role of the rail line while permitting fair third-party access under a regulated, multi-user framework.
HPX and Ivanhoe, in contrast, have made no rail-related investments in Liberia. Their primary goal is to use Liberian infrastructure to export Guinean iron ore to China, sidestepping local development obligations and attempting to piggyback on AML’s infrastructure investment without assuming any operator responsibility or financial burden.
“This is not just about rail access. It’s about rewriting rules for companies that have contributed nothing to Liberia’s growth,” said a senior government official familiar with the negotiations.
“You can’t sacrifice a billion-dollar investor for a company that hasn’t laid a single stone.”
If President Boakai yields to Grigsby’s push for HPX’s access agreement, Liberia could face international arbitration for violating its standing MDA with ArcelorMittal. Analysts said the result could not only be billions in damages but also a devastating blow to investor confidence, particularly at a time when Liberia is trying to position itself as a credible destination for foreign direct investment.
A fortnight ago, Liberia’s Economic Advisor, Morley Kamara, issued a strong rebuke to Bronwyn Barnes, CEO of Ivanhoe Liberia, the parent company of High-Power Exploration (HPX). Kamara criticized Barnes for a letter she sent to President Joseph Boakai, which he described as “highly disrespectful” and an attempt to “bully” both the President and the Inter-Ministerial Concessions Committee (IMCC) into granting HPX access to the Yekepa-Buchanan railway, currently operated by ArcelorMittal Liberia (AML).
In his response, Kamara highlighted that Barnes’ letter, dated May 3, 2025, undermined Liberia’s sovereignty and institutions. He emphasized that such a tone would be unacceptable if directed at leaders like the U.S. President or the Canadian Prime Minister. Kamara also questioned HPX’s commitment to its proposed $5 billion “Liberty Corridor” project, noting the company’s reluctance to fund essential feasibility studies and its shift from building new infrastructure to seeking access to existing AML-operated rails.
Furthermore, Kamara defended AML’s exclusive operator rights until 2030, as stipulated in the existing Mineral Development Agreement, and criticized HPX for lacking transparency regarding its claimed $3.15 billion economic impact. He urged the company to engage constructively with the IMCC and respect Liberia’s legal frameworks and institutional processes.
