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During his final overseas trip in office, President Biden will be visiting Angola to focus on 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 reports on the activities at the White House and will be accompanying President Biden on Air Force One for a trip to Angola.
President Biden will start his planned trip to Africa on Sunday evening, beginning with a visit to Angola. The purpose of the visit is to recognize the difficult and lengthy history shared between the two countries, while also promising to focus on future economic growth and investment opportunities.
This will be the first visit to Africa by a sitting American president since Barack Obama’s trip to Kenya and Ethiopia in 2015.
Mr. Biden’s visit to Africa, which is expected to be his final overseas trip while in office, is taking place after he promised in 2022 to show the United States’ commitment to Africa’s future. Despite facing several delays, Mr. Biden is currently 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 aspect of his administration’s economic plan for the region.
A project called the Lobito Corridor, with a budget of $1 billion, aims to connect Angola with Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. These countries hold abundant critical minerals essential for making batteries for smartphones and electric vehicles. President Biden is emphasizing this project to strengthen American efforts to access these important resources in Africa and to counter China’s increasing presence and influence on the continent.
Even though the Biden administration has been making diplomatic efforts, the United States is still falling behind China and Russia in terms of competing for economic and security power in Africa, as foreign policy experts have pointed out.
Tibor P. Nagy Jr., who has served as an ambassador in Africa under both President Bill Clinton and the Trump administration, mentioned that since disengaging with post-colonial Africa, it has been given very little importance. Some administrations have proposed ambitious African strategies, but often there is a lack of substance or action to back them up.
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