U.S. President Joe Biden begins a three-day visit to Angola today, during which he is expected to make several announcements related to the Lobito Corridor, as well as in areas such as health, food security, and agribusiness.
“A set of these announcements will be about the Lobito Corridor. We have mobilized billions of dollars for this project so far, and you can imagine that the President will engage with various components of this infrastructure effort and elevate them,” Frances Brown, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council, told reporters last week during a press briefing previewing the visit’s priorities, which runs until Wednesday.
The primary focus of the trip, initially planned for October but postponed until now, will be the Lobito Corridor. This railway infrastructure links Angola to the mining regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia, in which the United States is “truly a key partner,” particularly in the project’s second phase, said Helaina Matza, Coordinator of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI) at the U.S. State Department, in the same briefing.
This phase includes the construction of 800 new kilometers of railway through Angola, Zambia, and the DRC, adding to the 1,300 kilometers already in existence and currently undergoing renovations, Matza noted.
Biden is also expected to make announcements related to global health security, food security, agribusiness, and a “significant announcement on security sector cooperation” and “on the preservation of Angola’s rich cultural heritage.”
In 2023, trade between the United States and Angola totaled approximately $1.77 billion, making Angola the fourth-largest trading partner of Washington in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“We see Angola as a strategic partner and a regional leader. Our relationship with Angola has completely transformed over the past 30 years, and this transformation has gained momentum in the last three years,” Frances Brown emphasized.
Accordingly, the Senior Director for African Affairs summarized Biden’s visit to Angola with three goals: “elevating U.S. leadership in trade, investment, and infrastructure in Africa”; highlighting Angola’s “regional leadership and global partnership on a broad spectrum of urgent issues, including trade, security, and health”; and, lastly, showcasing the “remarkable evolution of U.S.-Angola relations.”
From the Angolan side, President João Lourenço underscored the visit’s importance not only in terms of investments but also in diversifying investments beyond the traditional oil sector.
“President Joe Biden is opening the way for American private investment in Angola. Until now, what we have observed for decades is that American investment in Angola has been mostly focused on the oil sector. We hope that this visit will lead to greater diversification of American private investment in Angola,” Lourenço highlighted in an interview with The New York Times.
When asked whether Biden’s upcoming departure from office diminishes the significance of this visit, João Lourenço dismissed the notion, saying, “Until January 20th of next year, President Joe Biden remains the U.S. President.” Moreover, “in relations between states, there may be changes in the chessboard pieces, but when the relationships are between states, they are generally guaranteed continuity.”
“We are not concerned about President Joe Biden being at the end of his term,” he added, emphasizing that starting in January, not only Angola but the rest of the world will need to work with Donald Trump “if they wish to maintain relations with the United States of America,” declining to comment on Trump’s potential relationship with Africa or his policies.
Lusa, 12/02/2024
