from PEDRO AGOSTO in Luanda, Angola
Angola Bureau
LUANDA, (CAJ News) – THE United States President Joe Biden has postponed his historic visit to Angola scheduled for Wednesday (today) under unclear circumstances.
It is to be his first visit to Africa since his swearing in, in 2021.
Biden (81) was supposed to meet with his Angolan counterpart, President João Gonçalves Lourenço, to discuss various areas of cooperation, investment and security with the Southern African nation.
Nevertheless, the US’ Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council, Frances Brown, briefed the media alongside the US’ Acting Special Coordinator for the Partnership on Global Infrastructure Investment (PGI) at the US Department of State, Helaina Matza.
“Speakers (Frances Brown and Helaina R. Matza) will highlight how President Biden’s visit to Angola builds on his bilateral meeting with President Lourenco in November 2023, the U.S-Africa Leaders Summit in December 2022, and President Lourenco’s visit to the United States in 2021,” the US statement reads.
The US, which is increasingly losing grip economically, politically and socially to China in the African continent, is making frantic efforts to regain its lost position as a dominant investment partner.
Analysts are doubtful America will regain its grip.
“If you look at Angola today, most investments, infrastructural development, technology, energy and general development are being spearheaded by China, not the Americans,” said economic commentator Paulo Carvalho.
He said China’s cooperation with Africa was not based on the “master” and “servant” approach, which the West champions.
“A fresh mindset is required to ensure America’s economic, political and social partnership with Africa grows in an environment of a win-win situation, not dictatorial terms,” Carvalho added.
Fernando Oliveira, Luanda based economic analyst, pointed out that many Angolans and diplomatic missions would want to listen to what Biden would say during his visit to the Southern African nation.
“Many embassies in Angola, including China, investors and the general Angolan public are eager to know what announcements Biden will make, otherwise this will be the turning point,” Oliveira said.
He however noted that many African countries were increasingly adopting the Look East Policy, in which China is the economic giant citing political policies of the Chinese Communist Party that do not treat weaker nations as “lesser partners.”
“Globally, the United States is increasingly losing both economic and political grip to China. This is simply because the West believes in dictating and bullying weaker nations. Take for example, the US imposes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer/questioning, asexual (LGBTIQA+’) before investing in some African countries whereas China comes with packages that have no strings attached,” Oliveira said.
The US insisted that Biden’s visit to Angola would emphasise Washington’s commitment to Angola and African partners in delivering infrastructure development.
“The visit underscores the United States’ continued commitment to African partners, including delivering on commercial infrastructure investment across the region and how collaborating to solve shared challenges delivers for the people of the United States and people across the African continent,” a statement read.
Angola’s economy hinges upon mainly on oil sector and gas reserves, mining, agriculture and fisheries, construction and financial services
Recently Angola’s oil production surpassed that of Nigeria (1.02 million bpd in May) compared to the southern African nation’s oil production output of 1.16 million barrels per day (bpd).
Angola is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which exports its main oil products to the US alongside exportation of diamonds and wood.
Many US companies in Angola have invested in agriculture, mineral exploration, energy, water and transportation.
Angola boasts a host of mineral resources.
Total Angola imports from the US in 2022 were $16,93 billion while the US goods exported to Angola in the same period were $653 million.
– CAJ News