The US President, Joe Biden, began a three-day state visit to Angola on Monday, at the invitation of the Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço.
This is President Biden’s first visit to the continent and the first visit by a US President to Angola. The last American head of state to visit Africa was Barack Obama in 2015.
“This visit is a strong signal of the interest that the United States of America (USA) places in strengthening its relations with Angola,” underlines the Angolan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release.
It indicates that Angola and the United States are working together to overcome a set of urgent and critical challenges, such as improving infrastructure in Africa and increasing economic opportunities and sustainable development on the continent.
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“The expansion of technologies, scientific cooperation, the consolidation of peace and security and the strengthening of food security are also other priorities defined by the two countries in their strategic relationship,” adds the same source.
The Angolan ministry also highlights that during this visit, special attention will be paid to the G7 Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI) project, which advances the common vision of the first transcontinental railway network of open access since the Africa, which begins in Lobito and will ultimately connect the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean.
The visit will thus highlight the redevelopment of the Lobito corridor railway to connect Zambia, Congo and Angola. The $2.5 billion upgrade of the 1,300 kilometer railway line is a large-scale project.
Discussions are also planned on the need to strengthen democracy and civic engagement, improve peace and security and intensify actions on climate security and the transition to clean energy, it is specified. .
The Angolan President previously stressed that so far US investments in Angola are focused only on the oil and gas industry. “Now we hope that with Mr. Biden’s visit there could be a diversification of American investments in different areas of our economy,” Mr. Lourenço said.
The White House says Joe Biden’s trip to Angola reflects evolving relations between the two countries and highlights the United States’ continued commitment to its African partners.
With MAP
