Luanda — US President Joe Biden is 'very excited' about his visit to Angola, from 2 to 4 December, and chose the country because it is a regional leader and in recognition of the great transformations that have taken place in recent years.
This fact was expressed on Tuesday by the special assistant to the US President and senior director for African Affairs at the National Security Council, Frances Brown, at a press conference in Washington to address the agenda of Biden's visit.
'We are very excited, especially President Biden,' he stressed.
Frances Brown acknowledged that Angola's transformation has accelerated in the last 13 years, with trade between the two countries reaching US$1,700,000 in 2023.
She pointed out the challenges for Angola in relation to peace and security in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in addition to economic opportunities in the region and technological and scientific cooperation.
She listed three main objectives of Biden's visit. The first is related to trade exploration and infrastructure building in Africa, and the second is related to Angola's leadership and its global partnership on trade, security and health.
The third, according to the senior White House official, has to do with the strengthening of cooperation between Angola and the US, marked in recent years by significant advances.
Regarding President Biden's agenda, she informed that he will meet with the Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço, to address issues related to cooperation in the fields of infrastructure, climate and health.
She asserted that, although Biden is at the end of his term, he is focused on several initiatives, including the Lobito Corridor, a plan of the United States, together with European countries and other private sector partners, translated into a strategic investment.
For Frances Brown, it is a railway line that will transport minerals, but it also means access to education and the movement of agricultural products to market, among other activities.
She informed that the Head of State will dedicate time to meetings with some private sector entities, which represent the interests of the various communities in the country.
Without giving details, she made it known that Joe Biden will make several announcements, 'but we can expect the president to focus on expanding several areas of partnership with Angola'.
However, she explained that there will be an announcement about the Lobito Corridor, since one billion dollars are already mobilized for this initiative.
'We can also expect other issues related to safety and health and others such as food security and preservation of Angolan cultural heritage,' the assistant to the US President said.
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Other areas that should merit increased US investment in Angola are peace and security, as well as climate.
Cooperation with Africa
Frances Brown stressed that the visit reinforces the continued commitment to partnership with Africa, including the implementation of investment in commercial infrastructure throughout the region and how they have collaborated to solve shared and beneficial challenges for the peoples of the United States and the African continent.
She highlighted that in the Biden and Harris administration, a strategy was published on contributions to Africa and also the relationship of the United States with the continent until the next century.
She explained that at the Leadership Summit in 2022, the US announced that it would invest $55 billion in the coming years. Two years later, more than 80% of this commitment has already been fulfilled.
'These are historic investments for the present times and offer economic opportunities for all communities in Africa,' she said.
She added that the US promotes Africa, including in the G20 and on the boards of financial institutions. 'We have had several trips at the top level of the leaders of the United States to Africa, including various agencies of the State Department in the last two years.' ART/DOJ
