Strengthening relations between the United States and Angola: Significance of Biden’s visit
Although there are benefits for both countries, the United States is clearly challenging China and Russia’s dominance in southern Africa.
With just a few months remaining in his term as president, President of the United States (US) Joe Biden has chosen to visit Angola from October 13th to 15th. The trip has been postponed after Hurricane Milton hit Florida's west coast this week, with new dates to be determined.
This is Biden’s only trip to Africa during his presidential term, the first by a U.S. president to visit Angola, and the first by a president to visit Africa since Barack Obama in 2015. Why did you focus on Angola, unlike a typical multi-country African visit?
In March, Angolan President Joao Lorenzo visited China as a state guest, and the relationship between the two countries was upgraded to a “Comprehensive Strategic Cooperation Partnership.” Along with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s visits to Angola in 2018 and 2023, these talks signal a changing geopolitical landscape in which the United States is keen to re-enter. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s January visit and Mr. Biden’s planned visit signaled significant high-level engagement.
Despite Angola’s historical ties to Russia, including Soviet support for the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola during the civil war, and strong economic ties with China, recent actions signal a change. Angola’s UN abstention from the Russia-Ukraine war and subsequent vote against Russia reflects the growth of foreign policy institutions and potential alignment with US efforts to counter Russian influence.
On the economic front, the focus of Biden’s visit was the multibillion-dollar Lobito Corridor project. The project aims to rehabilitate a 1,300km railway linking the mineral-rich Central African Copper Belt, which straddles Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with the port of Lobito in Angola.
Lobito Corridor and Tazara Railway Line
Source: ISS
In December 2023, Biden referred to the Lobito Corridor as “the largest rail investment in Africa in U.S. history” with an estimated cost of US$1 billion to US$2 billion. The project has the potential to significantly enhance the region’s ability to meet global demand for critical resources, particularly copper and cobalt, driven by the semiconductor industry and the growing artificial intelligence sector.
Biden’s announcement follows U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to Zambia, the starting point for the Lobito Corridor, in March 2023, highlighting the growing focus on these often overlooked countries. .
While the corridor promises long-term economic benefits, it is unclear whether it will have an immediate impact on the lives of ordinary Angolans, one in three living in deep poverty. Florindo Chibukte, executive director of Friends of Angola, told ISS today that there is hope that the corridor will create more jobs, but that “time will tell.”
Lorenzo has the opportunity to raise Angola’s international profile and advocate for its priorities.
Security considerations are also enhancing the relationship between the United States and Angola. The withdrawal of two U.S. military bases in Niger coincides with concerns about Russia’s Afrika Korps’ growing presence in the Sahel and China’s global security initiatives. Gen. Michael Langley, head of U.S. Africa Command, emphasized the need for partnerships to “ensure strategic access” and counter disinformation campaigns by rivals like Russia.
In 2020, the largest arms suppliers to Angola were Russia and China. Against this backdrop, the visits of Mr. Langley in November 2022 and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to Angola in September 2023 demonstrate that Angola is an emerging security ally of the United States on the continent. There is. The United States’ shift to partners in southern and eastern Africa coincides with its recent engagement with Kenya, which has been elevated to the status of a major non-NATO ally.
Although off to a low start, the United States is increasing military aid to Angola. From 2020 to 2023, military aid obligations exceeded US$21 million, but only US$4.28 million was disbursed during this period. As Angola’s role expands, particularly in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, support for military training, maritime security, humanitarian demining, peacekeeping, and cybersecurity capabilities is also expected to increase.
China’s continued regional influence is also a factor in strengthening U.S.-Angola relations. The agreement to reconstruct the Tanzania and Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) was signed at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in September 2024. Forty-eight years ago, China completed the 1,800km TAZARA railway linking Zambia and the port of Dar es Salaam (see map).
Immediately after FOCAC, Blinken countered with an announcement that Tanzania had joined discussions on the Lobito Corridor. It is unclear how duplication of U.S. and TAZARA efforts will be avoided, highlighting tensions between the two countries.
Angola is Africa’s fourth largest exporter of crude oil to the United States, but only 1.9% of its crude oil goes to the United States, with 54% going to China. China’s influence remains significant, including through its investment in Mota Engil, one of the Lobito Corridor companies. Nevertheless, Angola’s energy and mineral resources are of vital importance to the United States, as highlighted by Assistant Secretary of Energy Resources Jeffrey Pyatt’s participation in the U.S.-Angola Energy Security Dialogue in June.
The Lobito Corridor is part of the US Global Infrastructure Investment Partnership and is seen as a direct response to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The reconstruction of this corridor and TAZARA is a means of connecting Africa from east to west, but also reflects competition between the United States and China for influence and access to Africa’s mineral resources.
The United States should not compromise civil liberties and human rights protections to counter China
Angola’s increased engagement with the United States reflects Mr. Lorenzo’s goal to diversify its international partnerships, especially given the country’s large debts to China. But this diversification is largely driven by economics and may not be a genuine commitment to fighting corruption or promoting democracy, Chibcute said. He cited growing concerns about laws that limit democratic space, such as the vandalism bill.
Regionally, the United States has helped Angola emerge as a major player in Africa, particularly as the leader of the Luanda Process to address tensions between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Mr. Biden’s planned visit represents a strategic step forward in U.S.-Angola relations, with significant benefits for both countries. However, the United States clearly pursues major geopolitical interests aimed at challenging China and Russia’s dominance in southern Africa.
Although the economic outlook for Angolans appears positive, there are also concerns that the United States should not compromise Angola’s civil liberties and human rights protections to counter China.
Lorenzo has an opportunity to leverage the interests of these competing powers to benefit Angola. Biden’s visit will allow the country to raise its international profile and assert its priorities, marking a major departure from the more restrained foreign policy of former President José dos Santos.
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