President Biden will travel to Angola this week, becoming the first sitting president to do so and following through on a yearslong pledge to visit sub-Saharan Africa while in office, as his presidency nears the end.
Mr. Biden’s trip marks the first president to visit the region since 2015, and comes as he has long planned to make the trip to discuss economic partnerships and the vision for Africa’s first transcontinental open-access rail network, among other issues.
The president, who departs for the trip on Sunday night, had pledged to visit the African continent in 2023 before earlier this year saying he would visit after he was reelected. But the visit was thrown into question when he dropped out of the presidential race, before a trip in October was announced. Mr. Biden then postponed that trip to oversee the domestic response to Hurricanes Milton and Helene.
This week, the president is set to meet with Angola President Joao Lourenco and deliver remarks. Mr. Biden is expected to discuss infrastructure and economic opportunities with leaders, while highlighting the investments in Angola and Africa more broadly, according to senior administration officials previewing the trip.
The president is expected to announce among a number of things that the U.S. government will have closed 12 deals in Angola by the time he departs the White House, with a combined value of $6.9 billion. He’ll also outline a new global health security partnership aimed at responding to infectious diseases, while touting U.S. investments aimed at increasing food access and storage. And the president is expected to support the nomination of Angola’s Kwanza Corridor as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the officials said.
During the three-day visit, the president will also tout an infrastructure and rail project with heavy U.S. investment known as the Lobito Corridor, which aims to increase the speed of transport of critical minerals used for electric vehicles and AI data centers, along with drastically speeding up shipment times for food deliveries and helping to alleviate food insecurity in Africa.
The visit comes as China and Russia have made inroads in the region with infrastructure investments, adding to U.S.’ urgency surrounding making investments on the continent.
Mr. Biden’s trip also comes as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, spurring questions about the longevity of Mr. Biden’s achievements. But the Biden administration officials noted that U.S.-Africa policy has enjoyed bipartisan support in recent administrations, and said they expect the next administration to continue building on the policy.
The president also pledged when he took office to mend relationships around the world, after Trump’s first term. The White House has touted a deepening relationship with African leaders, including Lourenco, who met with Mr. Biden in the Oval Office last year. In 2022, Mr. Biden hosted the Africa Leaders Summit, and since then, the administration officials said more than 20 Cabinet and other senior leaders have also traveled to the continent.