Prom
Backed by
During his final overseas trip as president, Biden will visit Angola to explore the country’s history and economic potential. The agenda includes a visit to a slavery museum and highlighting a railway project that is part of his administration’s regional development plan.
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 to Angola.
On Sunday night, President Biden will embark on a trip to Africa, starting with a visit to Angola. The purpose of the visit is to recognize the historical difficulties between the two countries and to show a commitment to future economic partnerships.
President Biden is currently on his first trip to Africa, making him the first American president to visit the continent since Barack Obama’s visit to Kenya and Ethiopia in 2015.
Mr. Biden is making his final international trip as president to Africa, fulfilling a promise he made in 2022 to show support for the continent’s future. Despite some setbacks, he is now embarking on a three-day diplomatic visit to Angola. During his time there, he will tour a slavery museum and highlight a rail corridor that showcases his administration’s economic approach in the region.
A project called the Lobito Corridor, costing $1 billion, is being developed to connect Angola with Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These countries are known for their abundance of essential minerals used in smartphone and electric vehicle batteries. President Biden is promoting this project to strengthen American access to these resources in Africa and to counter China’s increasing influence on the continent.
Even though the Biden administration has made efforts to strengthen relationships, the United States is still falling behind China and Russia in terms of economic and security influence in Africa, as stated by experts in foreign policy.
Tibor P. Nagy Jr., who has served as an ambassador in Africa and as assistant secretary of state for African affairs, mentioned that Africa has been neglected as a priority since post-colonial times. Some administrations, like the current one, have ambitious African strategies that lack substance. Nagy compared it to an old advertisement asking, "Where is the beef?" suggesting that there is a lack of tangible actions behind these plans.
We are experiencing difficulties in accessing the content of the article.
Kindly activate JavaScript in your browser’s settings.
We appreciate your understanding as we confirm your access. If you are currently in Reader mode, please log out and sign in to your Times account. Alternatively, you can subscribe to access all of The Times content.
We appreciate your understanding as we confirm access.
Are you currently a member? Please sign in.
Interested in getting access to all of the content from The Times?
Prom
Index of Pages
Navigation for Site Information
