Biden went to Africa for the first time during his last presidential trip

According to RCO News Agency, “Joe Biden”, the outgoing president of the United States, became the first president of the United States in about a decade to travel to sub-Saharan Africa. Barack Obama was the last US president to visit this area in 2015 when he went to Ethiopia and Kenya.

In a post on the X social network, Joe Biden wrote that during his three-day visit to the oil-rich southern African nation, which began on Monday, he will “underscore the continued importance of the US-Angola relationship.”

“We will address a range of global challenges while there, and I will reaffirm my commitment to deepening US partnerships in Africa,” he said in the post.

Before arriving in Angola, Biden made a short stop on the island of “Cape Verde” located in the Atlantic Ocean and discussed with “Ulises Correa y Silva”, the prime minister of this island republic, on strengthening relations.

Biden made this trip while he is going to hand over the presidency to “Donald Trump”, the president-elect of the United States, after leaving the White House in a few weeks. Trump will take over the White House on January 20, while Washington’s allies are still uncertain about the future of relations with African countries in the second administration. This is despite the fact that America has been anxiously watching China’s increasing influence in this continent for a long time.

When Biden hosted Angolan President Joao Lourenço at the White House in late 2023, he promised him that he would visit his country later. During that meeting, the US President also emphasized his commitment to improving relations with Africa and supporting large investments in this continent.

According to “Rasha Today” website, the main focus of Biden’s recent visit to Angola will be on the railway project called “Lubito Corridor”, which connects Angola to the “Copperbelt” province of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Washington has invested more than three billion dollars on this 1,300-kilometer railway project and other related projects. America seeks to expand its presence in this region; The region is rich in important mineral resources such as cobalt and lithium, which are essential for the production of electric vehicle batteries.

This corridor is considered by observers to be an initiative of the Biden administration to compete with Beijing, which has made infrastructure investments in Africa for decades through the “Belt and Road” initiative. Last November, Angola opened an important international aviation center built with the support of China, 40 kilometers southeast of its capital, which, according to estimates, cost more than three billion dollars. It is not yet clear whether Donald Trump will continue the Lobito project after his inauguration.

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