7 months ago
61
US President Joe Biden. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP)
- US President Joe Biden has chosen Angola as the one African country he will visit while in office, the first such visit since Barack Obama's administration.
- Angola owes China a lot of money, but its president skipped China's recent meeting with African countries.
- The US seeks to export minerals via Angola, while China hopes to establish a naval base there.
When Beijing hosted the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) earlier this month, nearly every African country sent its head of state.
Angola – China's biggest debtor in Africa – was among the exceptions. President Joao Lourenco went to Dubai and Malaga in Spain instead, sending Foreign Affairs Minister Tete António in what was considered a snub.
Now America's President Joe Biden plans to honour his pledge to visit the African continent, right at the end of his time in office and after predecessor Donald Trump never got around to it, by going to Angola.
That choice suggests just how serious the US's renewed ambitions in Angola are, and how it rates Laurenco's move away from Russia despite a strong bond still in existence with Moscow.
"When Lourenco assumed office, he aimed to strengthen ties with the US, employing the consultancy firm Squire Patton Boggs, for which Angola pays $3 million [about R60 million] annually to assist in promoting the country's image in the US.
"Angola, which had been closely aligned with Russia, has shifted towards the US since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, despite Russia being its largest arms supplier and a key partner in training Angolan generals," said Jose Gama a researcher and political analyst on Angolan affairs.
The US-China rivalry is also playing out in Angola's mobile phone sector.
American-owned Africell Mobile Company arrived in Angola in 2022; it also has operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), The Gambia, and Sierra Leone.
But its situation in Angola is tricky because it competes directly with Unitel which has a partnership with Huawei.
The US imposed sanctions on Huawei in May 2019 due to the company's purported ties to the Chinese state and the security risk that implies.
China has also been actively seeking to establish a naval base in Angola on the Atlantic coast, which would threaten US national security.
China has been successful in establishing such a base in Equatorial Guinea.
For Marisa Lourenço, a political and economic risk analyst, the planned Biden visit will show how Angola has of late become one of the US’s strongest allies on the continent at a time when its influence in other regions has been undermined by China and Russia.
The biggest price, for the US, she said was the critical minerals sought by everyone.
She said:
At the centre of this is the Lobito Corridor development project, which aims to direct the export of critical minerals like copper, cobalt and coltan from the DRC through Angola's Lobito port via rail.
"At present, goods are primarily moved by road to Richard's
Bay in South Africa and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania."
In recent times, Angola has risen to be a major player in the Great Lakes region seeking peace and stability, particularly between the DRC and Rwanda.
For the US, Angola is what it needs to nudge the DRC away from China.
"China has had a tight trip on the DRC mining sector since the late 2000s, but President Felix Tshisekedi has been working to dislodge that, by pitting the US and China against each other in the race to secure their respective supplies of critical minerals.
Marisa said:
To a large degree, Tshisekedi has been influenced by Lourenço, as they both work together to seek greater financing from the US and better deals than those given by China over the last two decades.
According to Human Rights Watch, security forces in Angola have been
linked to grave violations of human rights.
For instance, over a dozen extrajudicial murders and other illegal killings, the use of excessive force against peaceful protestors, and arbitrary detentions have been reported.
The US could encourage Angola to improve on its record.
"A visit from Biden to Angola would help enhance the country's international reputation and attract more investment by showing that Angola is a stable and secure nation.
"However, this contrasts with Biden's early statements that his administration would fight autocracy globally and ensure that democracy prevails. Angola faces ongoing issues such as the imprisonment of activists, fabricated trials, and frequent human rights violations.
READ | Opposition vows it won't tolerate election fraud as Mozambique prepares for 4-way race
"Biden could use this visit to encourage Angola to move away from autocratic tendencies and begin respecting universal principles, such as human rights, championed by the US," Gama said.
According to the US government statistics, US exports to Angola in 2023 were R11.3 trillion, down 8.8% from 2022. Imports from Angola totalled R22.8 billion last year, down 26.8% from 2022.
The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
