BIDEN'S REAL AGENDA IN ANGOLA

Biden's gone to Angola for the loot, specifically for minerals like cobalt and copper necessary for powering devices and electric vehicles. That's educator George Lee Jr's blunt assessment of US President Joe Biden's 11th-hour visit to Angola on 2 December. 

The outgoing president’s tour will include the $5 billion Lobito Corridor, a key infrastructure project co-funded by the United States and the European Union that connects Angola's port of Lobito on the Atlantic coast to the mineral-rich Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Zambia via a 1,300-kilometre railway. Lee argues the project will only hasten the exploitation of Angola and the DRC. It's part of Washington's effort to counter China's economic clout in Africa.

Angola's strategic location on the southwest coast of Africa has long made it a key player in international affairs. It's a convenient export point for goods from Central Africa to the West. However, it's also been central to significant historical events, including a proxy war between Cold War rivals. Moscow backed the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) led by Agostinho Neto, while Washington supported the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA) and its offshoot, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), led by Jonas Savimbi. The civil war began in 1975 and ended in 2002.

Following the war's end, China provided infrastructure development loans that sped up Angola's economic recovery. In turn, China gained access to Angola's oil industry, which now supplies 72 per cent of its output to China.

Given China's heavy investments in the region's mining industry, the jury is out on whether Washington can catch up with Beijing.

Video credit: @theconsciouslee (X)

Sources:

https://newscentral.africa/biden-in-angola-for-first-visit-to-sub-saharan-africa-as-us-president/

https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-to-spotlight-angola-s-lobito-corridor-his-legacy-to-counter-china-in-africa/7879407.html

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/on-first-visit-to-angola-biden-says-future-of-the-world-is-in-africa/3412458

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/angola

https://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/angola/Angl998-03.htm

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1137636/main-destinations-of-oil-crude-exports-from-angola

https://www.chathamhouse.org/2020/12/chinas-southern-africa-debt-deals-reveal-wider-plan

https://newscentral.africa/biden-in-angola-for-first-visit-to-sub-saharan-africa-as-us-president/

https://www.voanews.com/a/biden-to-spotlight-angola-s-lobito-corridor-his-legacy-to-counter-china-in-africa/7879407.html

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/on-first-visit-to-angola-biden-says-future-of-the-world-is-in-africa/3412458

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/angola

https://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/angola/Angl998-03.htm

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1137636/main-destinations-of-oil-crude-exports-from-angola

https://www.chathamhouse.org/2020/12/chinas-southern-africa-debt-deals-reveal-wider-plan