US President Joe Biden has arrived in Angola for a pivotal two-day visit, marking his first and only trip to sub-Saharan Africa during his presidency. The visit, which began late on Monday, is primarily focused on advancing a major infrastructure initiative that is set to provide a significant counterpoint to China’s growing investments in the region.
Biden’s visit is centred on the Lobito Corridor project, a large-scale multinational initiative aimed at rehabilitating a vital railway line that connects mineral-rich inland countries, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia, to Angola’s Atlantic port city of Lobito.
This project is seen as a crucial step in fostering regional economic development while reducing dependence on Chinese-backed infrastructure projects in Africa.
In preparation for Biden’s visit, the Angolan government declared December 3 and 4 as public holidays and has increased security across the capital, Luanda, which is home to around 9.5 million people. Biden’s trip officially begins on Tuesday with talks with Angolan President João Lourenço in Luanda, where the two leaders are expected to discuss the Lobito project and other bilateral matters. Biden is also scheduled to deliver remarks at the National Slavery Museum.
On Wednesday, Biden will travel to Lobito, situated about 500 kilometres south of Luanda, where he will visit the port at the heart of the Lobito Corridor project. The rehabilitation of this railway, which has received significant loans from the United States, the European Union, and other global partners, is set to improve the transportation of minerals from the DRC and Zambia to the coast for export.
The project has been hailed as a “game changer” for US engagement in Africa, with White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby noting its potential to help drive “a more secure, more prosperous, more economically stable continent.”
The Lobito project is part of a broader geopolitical rivalry between the United States and China in Africa. While China has invested heavily in the region, including funding a railway project in Tanzania to transport minerals via the Indian Ocean, the US and its allies aim to offer an alternative that avoids the debt burdens often associated with Chinese financing. Angola, for instance, owes China approximately $17 billion, making up about 40% of the country’s total debt.
Angola’s President Lourenço, who has expressed a desire to diversify his country’s international partnerships, has welcomed Biden’s offer of sustainable investment alternatives.
“We’re not asking countries to choose between the US and Russia and China,” Kirby remarked ahead of Biden’s visit.
“We’re simply looking for reliable, sustainable, verifiable investment opportunities that the people of Angola and the people of the continent can rely on.”
However, human rights organisations have called on Biden to address Angola’s human rights record during his visit. Amnesty International has reported that at least 17 protesters were killed by Angolan police between November 2020 and June 2023 as part of an ongoing crackdown on dissent.
The organisation has urged Biden to press Angola for the immediate release of five government critics who have been arbitrarily detained for over a year.
Angola, a country of 37 million people, has faced significant challenges since its independence from Portugal in 1975, including a brutal 27-year civil war. During the Cold War, the United States covertly supported the UNITA rebel movement, which fought against the ruling MPLA government. It was not until 1993 that the US formally recognised the MPLA-led government and began importing its oil.
As Biden wraps up his visit to Angola, all eyes will be on the strategic implications of the Lobito Corridor project and the broader competition for influence and investment across Africa, particularly as the continent seeks more sustainable economic partnerships.
