Monday 02 Dec 2024 @ 16:25
Chatham House
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Biden’s trip to Angola throws spotlight on Luanda’s multipolar foreign policy

EXPERT COMMENT

Should Donald Trump fail to back the Lobito Corridor project, João Lourenço’s government has other partnership options in Europe and the Middle East.

President Joe Biden’s trip to Angola next week is his first to Africa as president, and the first visit to Angola by an American leader since independence from Portugal in 1975. 

It comes as the governing People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) party prepares to celebrate 50 years of rule, and Angola gets ready to host the US–Africa Business Summit in mid-2025

The Biden administration has tried to increase its Africa engagement since 2021, through sharpened focus within its Africa network, increased official visits and important new initiatives such as the Lobito Corridor. 

The Corridor is planned as part of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), a G7 initiative designed to compete with Chinese influence head on, in Africa and beyond. In these respects, US–Angola relations are at their strongest since 1993.

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Channel website: https://www.chathamhouse.org/

Original article link: https://www.chathamhouse.org/2024/11/bidens-trip-angola-throws-spotlight-luandas-multipolar-foreign-policy

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