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Biden arrives in Angola for his long-awaited, first presidential sub-Saharan Africa visit
US President Joe Biden arrived in Angola on Monday for his long-awaited first presidential visit to sub-Saharan Africa and will use the three-day trip to counter China’s influence by highlighting an ambitious US-backed railway project.
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The Lobito Corridor railway redevelopment in Zambia, Congo and Angola aims to advance US presence in a region rich in the critical minerals used in batteries for electric vehicles, electronic devices and clean energy technologies.
Thousands of people lined the streets as Biden entered Angola’s capital, Luanda.
Biden first stopped in the Atlantic Ocean island nation of Cabo Verde, formerly known as Cape Verde, for a brief, closed-door meeting with Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva. In Angola, Biden plans to meet Angolan President João Lourenço, visit the National Slavery Museum and travel to the port city of Lobito for a look at the railway project.
His visit comes with weeks left in his presidency, as Republican president-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office on January 20.
Biden promised to visit Africa last year after reviving the US-Africa Summit in December 2022. The trip was pushed back to 2024 and delayed again this October because of Hurricane Milton, reinforcing a sentiment among Africans that their continent is still low priority for Washington.
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The last US president to visit sub-Saharan Africa was Barack Obama in 2015. Biden did attend a United Nations climate summit in Egypt in North Africa in 2022.