US President Biden On Two-day Visit To Angola

The President of the United States (US) of America, Joe Biden, is visiting Angola on Tuesday.

Naijaonpoint reports that this trip marks Biden’s first and only trip to sub-Saharan Africa during his presidency.

This visit is primarily focused on a significant infrastructure initiative that serves as a counterbalance to Chinese investments in the region.

Biden arrived in the oil-rich, Portuguese-speaking nation late on Monday for a two-day engagement centred around a multinational effort to restore a railway line that transports minerals from inland countries to the Angolan port of Lobito for export purposes.

According to AFP, in preparation for his visit, the Angolan government has declared December 3 and 4 as public holidays and has implemented extensive security measures throughout the capital, Luanda, with a population of approximately 9.5 million.

Beginning his visit on Tuesday, Biden will hold discussions with President Joao Lourenco in Luanda and will deliver a speech at the National Slavery Museum later in the day.

On Wednesday, he plans to travel to Lobito, an Atlantic port city located about 500 kilometres (310 miles) south of Luanda.

The port plays a crucial role in the Lobito Corridor project, which has secured funding from the United States, the European Union, and other entities to restore a vital railway that links the mineral-rich island nations of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia to Lobito, facilitating their export.

“It is a real game changer for US engagement in Africa,” John Kirby, the White House national security communications advisor, told reporters Monday.

“It’s our fervent hope that as the new team comes in and takes a look at this, that they see the value too, that they see how it will help drive a more secure, more prosperous, more economically stable continent.”

The Lobito project is a piece in the geopolitical battle between the United States and its allies and China, which owns mines in the DRC and Zambia among an array of investments in the region.

A similar railway project involving Chinese investment is aimed at ferrying minerals out via a Tanzanian port on the Indian Ocean.

Before President Biden’s visit, a high-ranking US official informed reporters that African nations are exploring alternatives to Chinese investments, particularly due to concerns about the long-term implications of accruing substantial debt.

For example, Angola’s debt to China is $17 billion, constituting approximately 40 per cent of the country’s overall debt.

President Lourenco also seems inclined to broaden his nation’s alliances beyond China and Russia.

“We are not asking nations to choose between the US, Russia, and China,” Kirby stated.

“Our focus is on finding dependable, sustainable, and verifiable investment opportunities that the citizens of Angola and the continent can trust.”

Human rights advocates have called on President Biden to address Angola’s human rights situation.

Naijaonpoint understands that Amnesty International had reported earlier that Angolan law enforcement had killed at least 17 protesters from November 2020 to June 2023 as part of an ongoing suppression of dissent.

The organization urged President Biden, who is 82, to insist that Angola “immediately release five government critics who have been arbitrarily detained for over a year.”

Angola, home to 37 million people, suffered extensive damage from a 27-year civil war that began following its independence from Portugal in 1975 when the UNITA rebel group opposed the MPLA, which remains in power today.

During the Cold War, the United States provided covert support to UNITA and only recognized the MPLA government in 1993, subsequently becoming an importer of its oil.