The government of Angola has announced a two-day public holiday for its citizens in conjunction with the visit of United States President Joe Biden. This holiday will be observed in Luanda province and will also apply to residents of the municipalities of Benguela, Lobito, and Catumbela. The Angolan government’s official statement cites “exceptional contingency measures to ensure safety” as the reason for the public holiday. In addition to the holiday declaration, the government has also announced traffic restrictions on certain roads within Luanda province.
President Biden’s visit commenced on Monday, November 25th, 2024. On this day, he arrived in Luanda and held bilateral talks with Angolan President João Lourenço. Later in the day, President Biden visited Angola’s National Museum of Slavery, a visit intended to commemorate the shared history of the United States and Angola within the context of the transatlantic slave trade.
On today, Wednesday, November 27th, 2024, President Biden’s itinerary includes visits to the municipalities of Benguela, Lobito, and Catumbela. The declaration of a public holiday extends to these areas as well. A key focus of President Biden’s visit to these municipalities is the Lobito Corridor, a significant multinational partnership involving African governments and co-funded by the United States. This railway project aims to facilitate the efficient transportation of minerals from countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, and Angola.
President Biden’s trip to Angola marks his first presidential visit to sub-Saharan Africa. His arrival in Angola was met with enthusiastic welcomes from thousands of people. The primary focus of his three-day visit is the redevelopment of the Lobito Corridor railway, a project designed to strengthen the U.S. presence in a region rich in critical minerals. These minerals are vital components in the production of batteries for electric vehicles, electronic devices, and clean energy technologies.
The timing of President Biden’s trip is noteworthy, occurring just weeks before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump on January 20th, 2025. The visit fulfills a long-standing pledge made by President Biden to visit sub-Saharan Africa. En route to Angola, President Biden made a brief stop in Cape Verde, where he held a closed-door meeting with Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva.
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During his visit, President Biden held a meeting with African leaders in the Angolan port of Lobito on Wednesday, November 27th, 2024. This meeting centered on advancing plans to extend the Lobito Corridor railway, a project intended to create a more efficient route for the transport of critical minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia to western markets. This initiative is also viewed as a strategic effort to counter the growing influence of China within the region. Currently, China is the dominant foreign player in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s mining sector, which is a significant exporter of minerals crucial for the global transition away from fossil fuels.
President Biden’s visit to Africa had been initially scheduled for 2023, following the revival of the U.S.-Africa Summit in December 2022. However, the trip was postponed to 2024 and further delayed in October 2024 due to Hurricane Milton. This series of delays had led to some criticism in Africa, suggesting that the continent remained a lower priority for the U.S. government. The last visit by a U.S. president to sub-Saharan Africa was undertaken by Barack Obama in 2015, although President Biden did attend a United Nations climate summit in Egypt (North Africa) in 2022.
Source: The EastAfrican
