Prom
Backed by
During his final overseas trip as president, Biden will visit Angola to explore the country’s history and discuss economic opportunities. He plans to visit a slavery museum and highlight a railway project that is part of his administration’s regional strategy.
Written by Zolan Kanno-Youngs
Zolan Kanno-Youngs is a journalist who reports on the activities at the White House. He is scheduled to accompany President Biden on Air Force One for a trip to Angola.
On Sunday night, President Biden will start his long-awaited trip to Africa by visiting Angola. The purpose of the visit is to recognize the difficult history between the two countries while also promising to focus on economic investment for the future.
President Biden’s visit to Africa marks the first time a US president has visited the continent since Barack Obama’s trip to Kenya and Ethiopia in 2015.
This trip is likely the final one Mr. Biden will take overseas during his term as president. He promised in 2022 to visit Africa to show the United States’ commitment to the continent’s future. After some setbacks, Mr. Biden is now on a three-day diplomatic visit to Angola. During his visit, he will tour a slavery museum and highlight a rail corridor that his team sees as a key part of his administration’s economic plans for the region.
A project called the Lobito Corridor, costing $1 billion, aims to connect Angola with Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These countries are abundant in critical minerals essential for making batteries for smartphones and electric vehicles. President Biden is promoting this project to strengthen American access to these resources in Africa and to counter China’s increasing influence in the region.
Even though the Biden administration has made efforts to connect with Africa, foreign policy experts believe that the United States is still falling behind China and Russia in terms of economic and security influence on the continent.
Tibor P. Nagy Jr., a former ambassador to Africa appointed by both President Bill Clinton and the Trump administration, expressed that Africa has been neglected since the end of colonialism. He criticized the lack of priority given to the continent, noting that some administrations have made ambitious plans for Africa without delivering concrete action. He compared these plans to a misleading advertisement without substance.
We are currently experiencing difficulties in accessing the content of the article.
Kindly activate JavaScript in the settings of your web browser.
We appreciate your understanding as we confirm your access. If you are currently using Reader mode, please close it and sign in to your Times account, or consider subscribing to access all of The Times.
We appreciate your understanding as we confirm access.
Are you currently a member? Please sign in.
Interested in receiving full access to The Times? Simply subscribe to gain
Prom
Index of Pages
Navigation for Site Information