During his historic visit to Angola, the U.S. President stated, “We know that African leaders and citizens are looking for more than just aid. You are seeking investments.”
U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday over $1 billion in humanitarian aid for Africans displaced due to “historic droughts.”
Speaking after visiting the slavery museum in Angola’s capital, Luanda, Biden emphasized that his presidency’s aim has been to establish a strong and genuine partnership with the African continent to achieve shared goals.
Highlighting the need for mutual partnerships, Biden stated that the real question is not what the U.S. can do for Africa, but rather “what we can do together with the African people.”
“We know, however, that African leaders and citizens are looking for more than just aid. You are seeking investments. This is why the United States is extending its relations across the entire African continent,” he declared.
Addressing slavery, Biden stressed the importance of not erasing nations’ histories while acknowledging the horrific legacy of slavery that connects the U.S. and Angola.
Referring to the onset of slavery in the U.S., he described it as “cruel, brutal, and inhumane,” calling it “the original sin” that has “cast a long and enduring shadow over America.”
The Museum of Slavery, one of Angola’s key cultural heritage sites, was built on the property of Alvaro de Carvalho Matoso, one of the largest slave traders along the African coast in the 18th century.
Inaugurated in 1977, the museum is dedicated to the collective memory of nearly 500 years of slavery endured by Angolans. Historians note that this was where slaves were baptized before being sent to the Americas.
The slave trade ended in 1836 due to a decree by Portugal’s Queen Maria II banning the export of slaves from Portuguese colonies.
Biden also thanked Angolan President Joao Lourenço for mediating in regional conflicts, emphasizing the importance of Angola raising its voice against Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Arriving on Monday for a three-day visit to Angola, Biden had already met Lourenço at Luanda’s presidential palace.
In Angola, the spotlight was on a key infrastructure project essential to the bilateral economic relations between the two countries: the U.S.-backed railway line.
The project links the resource-rich Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia to Angola’s Lobito port on the Atlantic coast.
The 1,300-kilometer (807-mile) railway line between Lobito and Congo is expected to enable the swift transport of exports to Western markets.
Analysts suggest that the $1 billion railway project, the largest U.S. investment in African rail infrastructure, could weaken China’s dominance over critical minerals like copper and cobalt sourced from Congo.
Biden described the project as “the largest U.S. investment in African railway infrastructure in history.”
