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During his final overseas trip as president, Biden will visit Angola and focus on exploring the country’s history, particularly regarding slavery, and highlighting a rail corridor that is part of his administration’s economic strategy for the region.
Written by Zolan Kanno-Youngs.
Zolan Kanno-Youngs reports on the White House and will be accompanying President Biden on Air Force One for a trip to Angola.
On Sunday night, President Biden will start his planned trip to Africa with a visit to Angola. The purpose of the visit is to recognize the difficult history between the two countries and to pledge to a future of economic development.
President Biden’s visit to Africa marks the first time an American president has traveled to the continent since Barack Obama visited Kenya and Ethiopia in 2015.
Mr. Biden is making his final trip abroad as president to Africa, fulfilling a promise he made in 2022 to show support for the continent’s future. Despite several postponements, he is embarking on a three-day diplomatic visit to Angola, where he plans to tour a slavery museum and highlight a rail corridor that symbolizes his administration’s economic focus in the region.
A project called the Lobito Corridor, which costs $1 billion, aims to connect Angola with Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These countries are abundant in critical minerals needed for smartphone and electric vehicle batteries. President Biden is promoting this project to strengthen American access to these important resources in Africa and to counter China’s increasing influence in the region.
Foreign policy experts believe that even though the Biden administration is making efforts to build friendly relationships, the United States is still falling behind China and Russia in terms of economic and security influence in Africa.
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 as a priority since colonial times. He criticized administrations for creating ambitious African strategies without tangible results, comparing it to a commercial asking "where is the beef?"
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