Washington - The President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, will receive his Angolan counterpart, João Lourenço, in Washington on Thursday to discuss new areas of investment.
During the working meeting, taking place at 2:30 p.m. local time (8:30 p.m. Angola), in the Oval Office of the White House, the Statesmen will address the strengthening of the strategic, economic and commercial partnership between the two countries, in different sectors.
According to the official agenda distributed to the press, the meeting will mainly address issues related to bilateral cooperation on trade, investment, climate and energy, as well as U.S. investments in Africa.
One of the central themes of the meeting, which takes place as part of the celebrations of 30 years of diplomatic relations, will be the implementation of President Biden's Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investments (HIP) project in the Lobito Corridor, Benguela province.
The project plans to connect Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia to global markets through the Port of Lobito, a strategic infrastructure that is being modernized to receive large ships as part of the opening of the Lobito Corridor.
Currently, the Port of Lobito has the berthing capacity of five large ships and, under more favourable unloading conditions, three days per ship.
The Port of Lobito has container, general cargo, mining, dry port, cabotage, Sonamet and ocean terminals, and is therefore an important infrastructure for revenue collection.
In addition to the Port of Lobito, the Corridor has a set of other infrastructures that connect Benguela to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia, essential for transporting goods in Southern Africa.
It has rail, air, sea and land exits, such as the Benguela Railway, with a line of more than 100 years of history, the only rail connection that extends from Central Africa to the Atlantic.
The Corridor also includes the Catumbela International Airport and the Industrial Complex, which give it an important geostrategic position in Angola and the region.
This will be one of the main topics during the meeting between Joe Biden and João Lourenço, which could last an hour.
So far, it is not confirmed whether there will be statements from the two Presidents on the concrete results of the meeting. There is, however, the possibility of brief statements to the press before the meeting.
According to the official agenda, the Angolan President may host, in the afternoon (evening in Angola), a bilateral meeting with T.H. Amos HOCHSTEIN, President Biden's Deputy Assistant and Senior Advisor for Energy and Investment, National Security Council.
Another bilateral meeting may take place with T.H. Scott Nathan, Executive Director of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation.
30 years of diplomatic relations
João Lourenço's working visit to Washington takes place as part of the celebration of 30 years of diplomatic relations between Angola and the USA, formed in 1993, by the then North American President Bill Clinton.
This formalization put an end to a phase of political tensions and indirect confrontation, which began shortly after Angola became independent, in 1975, as a result of the Cold War that opposed the former USSR and the USA.
It was only in 1993, during Bill Clinton's presidency, that it was possible to normalize the situation and establish formal diplomatic relations, which have reached new heights in recent years, bringing the two countries and peoples closer together.
In three decades, the two States have deepened exchanges, with regular visits by authorities, businesspeople and other actors, which has allowed sharing experiences in various areas.
Currently, Angola is the USA's third largest trading partner in Sub-Saharan Africa, with oil being one of the main assets of this strategic partnership.
In addition to the oil sector, bilateral cooperation has increased in recent years, especially in the area of commercial diplomacy, which has made it possible to approve several projects.
In the area of renewable energy, for example, financing of USD 900 million was approved, within the framework of projects developed by the American company Sun África.
In the area of infrastructure, this year, USD 363 million was approved for the American company Acro Briz, which will build metal bridges in 18 provinces of Angola.
In the Lobito Corridor (Benguela province), the US Government plans to invest USD 250 million, with several other projects linked to the area of digitalization.
In this segment, there is cooperation with the company Africell, for the digitalization of money, within the scope of a program called 'Digital money is better', with an investment of five million dollars.
Another ongoing investment in Angola is focused on the environment, with the US investing around USD 7.5 million in the Okavango Delta.
In the area of security, a memorandum of understanding was recently signed on how to strengthen this relationship, both in the maritime security sector and in the equipment sector. ELJ/DOJ
