Fatshimetrie
During his three-day trip, US President Joe Biden met with Angolan President João Lourenço, who has worked to strengthen relations with the United States since taking office seven years ago.
“The United States is fully committed to Africa,” Biden said during his meeting with President Lourenço at the presidential palace, underscoring Angola’s strong relationship with Washington.
US investment highlighted
Biden’s visit was aimed at highlighting US investment in the region. While visiting the coastal town of Lobito, the US president pledged a new $600 million investment in the Lobito Corridor.
The project aims to revitalize supply chains by renovating 1,300 kilometers of railways linking Angola to mineral-rich areas of Congo and Zambia in central Africa.
The Angolan government has moved closer to the United States under the current president, after decades of ties with China and Russia.
However, China’s growing influence in the region remains a concern for U.S. officials.
During his visit, Joe Biden also visited the country’s National Slavery Museum. Speaking on a waterfront stage, he said history cannot and should not be erased, and that while America was founded on the ideal of liberty and equality, “it is clear today that we have not yet fully realized that ideal.”
Biden highlighted how Angola and the United States, once bound together by the horrors of enslaved human beings, could now increasingly be bound together by economic opportunity.
One issue that overshadowed the trip
One issue that overshadowed the trip was the news that Biden had pardoned his son Hunter, sparing him from possible prison time for federal gun and tax convictions. The news also marked a reversal from Biden’s past promises not to use the extraordinary powers of the presidency to benefit his family.
When reporters tried to question the president about why he was granting such a sweeping pardon to his son Hunter after repeatedly saying he wouldn’t, Biden tried to brush off the questions. He gestured toward Lourenço and laughed, saying, “Welcome to America.”
What does the future hold under Donald Trump?
Joe Biden will hand over power to President-elect Donald Trump on January 20.
Lourenço, like many leaders of African nations, has already begun to talk about a future dominated by Trump. While Trump has been alleged to have made disparaging remarks about African nations in the past, the responsibility for completing projects like the Lobito Corridor will soon fall on him.
Biden administration officials say they hope Trump and leading Republicans will continue to take a business-friendly approach to investing in Africa, which includes continued support for the Lobito Corridor.