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During his final overseas trip in office, President Biden will be visiting Angola with a focus on exploring the country’s history and economic potential. He plans to visit a slavery museum and highlight a rail corridor that is part of his administration’s regional strategy.
Written by Zolan Kanno-Youngs
Zolan Kanno-Youngs is a journalist who reports on the White House and will be accompanying President Biden on Air Force One for a trip to Angola.
President Biden is set to embark on a trip to Africa starting on Sunday evening, with his first stop being Angola. The visit is intended to recognize the difficult history shared by the two countries and to show a commitment to future economic development through investment.
Mr. Biden’s visit to Africa marks the first time an American president has traveled to the continent since Barack Obama’s trip to Kenya and Ethiopia in 2015.
This visit to Africa is expected to be President Biden’s final overseas trip while in office. He made a promise in 2022 to visit the continent to show the United States’ commitment to Africa’s future. Despite facing delays, President Biden is now embarking on a three-day diplomatic tour of Angola. During his visit, he will tour a slavery museum and highlight a rail corridor that his team sees as a key element of his administration’s economic approach in the region.
A project called the Lobito Corridor, with an estimated cost of $1 billion, aims to connect Angola with Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These countries have abundant critical minerals used in manufacturing batteries for smartphones and electric vehicles. President Biden is emphasizing this project to strengthen American access to these essential resources in Africa and to counter China’s increasing influence in the region.
Even though the Biden administration is making efforts to strengthen ties, experts in foreign policy believe that the United States is still falling behind China and Russia in terms of economic and security power in Africa.
According to Tibor P. Nagy Jr., who has served as an ambassador in Africa appointed by both President Bill Clinton and the Trump administration, the United States has neglected post-colonial Africa as a priority. Some administrations have made ambitious plans for Africa but have not followed through with concrete actions, similar to the phrase "Where is the beef?" from an old advertisement.
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