Exclusive: Sources claim that Biden will travel to Angola in the upcoming weeks for his first visit to Africa

President Joe Biden is preparing to visit Angola in the upcoming weeks, fulfilling a previous commitment that would make him the first U.S. head of state to visit sub-Saharan Africa since Barack Obama in 2015. This is according to three sources who are currently informed of the plans.

The voyage, which is still in the process of being finalized, is anticipated to take place following the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September and prior to the presidential election on November 5, according to one of the sources.

It was declined by the White House to provide a statement regarding the itinerary.

Biden had intended to visit Angola in the latter part of last year; however, the journey was postponed following the inception of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October. Biden has expressed his commitment to forging a more robust partnership between the United States and democratic nations in the African continent, as Beijing invests significantly in the region.

The Democratic president entertained Angolan President Joao Lourenco at the White House in November of last year and discussed the possibility of a visit during their Oval Office meeting. If he were to win the U.S. presidential election in May, he declared that he intended to conduct an official mission to Africa in February.

Biden would be the first U.S. president to visit the oil- and resource-rich African country, according to one of the sources. This visit follows the first-ever visit by a U.S. defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, in September 2023.

In an effort to compete with China’s substantial investments in Africa, the United States has been providing support for a project that aims to bypass road congestion on the copper and cobalt route by connecting the resource-rich Democratic Republic of Congo to Lobito port in Angola via rail.

Following the hosting of a U.S.-African leaders summit in Washington in December 2022, Biden, who assumed office in 2021, has been subjected to criticism for failing to visit the African continent earlier in his tenure. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Vice President Kamala Harris visited Africa in 2023, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited this year.

Biden’s visit would occur weeks prior to a U.S. presidential election that remains razor thin. Recent polls indicate that Democratic candidate Kamala Harris is virtually tied with her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, whose derogatory reference to African nations as “shithole countries” continue to resonate in African diplomatic circles.