President Biden will travel to Angola this week, becoming the first sitting president to do so and moving forward years old promise Will visit sub-Saharan Africa while in office, as his presidential term comes to an end.
Mr Biden's visit is the first by a sitting president to visit the region since 2015, and it comes as he plans to discuss the economic partnership and the vision for Africa's first intercontinental open-access rail network, among other issues. Have planned to do.
The president, who is leaving for the trip on Sunday night, promised earlier this year to visit the African continent in 2023 and said he would visit after being re-elected. But the trip came into question when he dropped out of the presidential race even before the trip was announced in October. then mr biden he postponed the trip Monitoring domestic response to Hurricanes Milton and Helen.
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This week, the President is set to meet and deliver remarks to Angolan President Joao Lourenco. Mr. Biden is expected to discuss infrastructure and economic opportunities with the leaders, while investments in Angola and Africa more broadly will be highlighted, according to senior administration officials who previewed the trip.
The president is expected to announce, among other things, that by the time he leaves the White House the US government will close 12 deals in Angola, worth a total of $6.9 billion. He will also outline a new global health security partnership aimed at combating infectious diseases, while announcing US investments aimed at increasing food access and storage. Officials said the president is expected to support designating Angola's Kwanza Corridor as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
During the three-day visit, the president will also promote an infrastructure and rail project with heavy US investment, known as the Lobito Corridor, which aims to transport critical minerals used for electric vehicles and AI data centres. There has to be a huge increase in the speed of transportation. Speeding up shipment times for food distribution and helping to reduce food insecurity in Africa.
The visit comes as China and Russia have made inroads into the region with infrastructure investments, increasing America's readiness to invest on the continent.
Mr Biden's visit comes as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, raising questions about the longevity of Mr Biden's achievements. But Biden administration officials noted that the US-Africa policy has received bipartisan support in recent administrations, and said they expected the next administration to continue working on the policy.
After Trump's first term, when the President took office he also promised to improve relations around the world. The White House has advocated for deeper ties with African leaders, including Lourenco, who met with Mr Biden in the Oval Office last year. In 2022, Mr. Biden hosted the Africa Leaders Summit, and since then, administration officials said more than 20 Cabinet and other senior leaders have also visited the continent.
Contributed to this report.