Biden promises Africa long-term support during an impromptu trip to Angola

In Luanda on Tuesday, Joe Biden met with his Angolan counterpart Joao Lourenco as part of his lone trip to sub-Saharan Africa as president of the United States, and he promised to engage with Africa on African terms for the long run.

Biden, who had previously stated that the United States was “all in on Africa” at a U.S.-Africa meeting in Washington in December 2022, carried out his promise to travel to the continent during his tenure in office, which ends in January.

Prior to a private meeting with Lourenco, Biden made a few brief public statements at Angola’s presidential palace, saying, “You should understand the extent to which we’re prepared to be engaged.”

“We don’t think we have all answers, but we’re prepared to hear your answers to the needs you have, particularly answers to international debt financing,” he added.

Lourenco stated that Angola’s goal was to collaborate with the United States in order to draw in foreign investment and strengthen defense and security relations, including joint military drills and collaboration in the South Atlantic and Gulf of Guinea.

The investments made by American corporations in Angola’s oil and gas industry, as well as in a number of future projects including grain silos and logistics infrastructure, were also commended by him.

“We’re going to move beyond Cold War relations, where we weren’t always aligned, and make a turning point in relations between the two countries,” he said, referring to the United States’ backing of one of the armed factions in the protracted civil war in Angola, which was partially a proxy war between the Cold War and the Soviet Union.

Biden’s tour will also highlight the Lobito Corridor, a railroad project partially supported by the United States that aims to facilitate the shipment of vital minerals from Zambia’s and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s mining heartlands to the west.

As Biden’s presidency draws to an end, two officials from the previous Trump administration say that when President-elect Donald Trump comes to the White House in January, he will probably support the railway and continue to be close to Angola.

Biden has promised to go “all in on Africa,” but throughout his time in office, American influence in that continent has decreased. A rapidly evolving continent that is becoming more aligned with China and Russia and under threat from jihadist insurgencies will require the next Trump administration to address its blind spots.

THE SLAVERY LEGACY

The two countries’ shared history in the transatlantic slave trade was to be commemorated by Biden’s visit to Angola’s National Museum of Slavery later Tuesday.

The location features the church from the 17th century where slaves were baptized under duress before being transported in chains to the Americas.

In 1619, Africans were first brought to Virginia, a British territory, after being captured in Angola. All told, 4 million Angolans were brutally brought to the Americas, primarily to Brazil but also to the present-day United States.

Wanda Tucker, a descendant of William Tucker, the first US-born enslaved child, whose parents were transported from Angola to colonial Virginia in August 1619 on the Portuguese ship White Lion, was anticipated to be among Biden’s guests at the museum.

On the African coast, the museum was once owned by one of the biggest slave traders. Inside are a number of items, such as iron weights and chains, that were used to torment and punish slaves.

A $229,000 grant from the US is being announced to help restore the structure.

A contentious political debate revolves around diversity, equity, and how to address the nation’s racial past, and despite the abolition of slavery in the United States some 160 years ago, there are still significant wealth disparities between white and black Americans.

Biden is not anticipated to discuss American reparations for the slave trade while he is in the country.