Key Points
- Biden promises continued U.S. engagement with Africa.
- Angola looks to boost investment and defense ties.
- Biden honors Angola’s role in transatlantic slave trade.
In Luanda on Tuesday, President Joe Biden met with President João Lourenço of Angola and promised continued U.S. engagement in Africa. As president, this is Biden’s first and only trip to sub-Saharan Africa.
Biden affirms U.S. engagement with Africa today.
Biden stressed that U.S. engagement would be grounded in Africa’s needs and goals during brief remarks at the presidential palace. Reiterating a statement he made during the U.S.-Africa meeting in Washington in December 2022, Biden declared, “The United States is all in on Africa.” Prior to his private discussion with Lourenço, he continued, “You should understand the extent to which we’re prepared to be engaged.” “We’re ready to hear your responses to your needs, even though we don’t believe we have all the answers.”
In order to draw in foreign investment and fortify defence and security connections, Lourenço stated that Angola would like to work with the United States on joint military exercises and cooperation in the South Atlantic and Gulf of Guinea.
According to Reuters, Lourenço made reference to U.S. backing for one of the armed factions in Angola’s protracted civil war, which was partially a proxy war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, when he stated, “We’re going to move beyond Cold War relations, where we weren’t always aligned, and make a turning point in relations between the two countries.”
Biden visits Angola’s slavery museum, reflecting history.
According to Reuters, Biden reflected on the two countries’ shared history in the transatlantic slave trade during his visit to Angola’s National Museum of Slavery later on Tuesday.
The museum is housed in a church from the 17th century where slaves were baptised before being sent in chains to the Americas.
Captured in Angola, the first Africans arrived in Virginia, a British colony, in 1619. More than 4 million Angolans were brought to the Americas by force, primarily to Brazil but also to the present-day United States.
Biden spoke with Wanda Tucker, a descendent of William Tucker, the first enslaved child born in the United States, during his tour of the museum. The Portuguese ship *White Lion* had transported his parents from Angola to colonial Virginia in August of 1619.
A $229,000 grant from the US was offered to help with the building’s repair.
Even though slavery was outlawed in the United States more than 150 years ago, there are still large racial discrepancies, including income gaps between white and black Americans and continuous discussions over how to handle the country’s racial past. During his visit, Biden is not anticipated to discuss American reparations for slavery.
