US President Joe Biden hosted Angolan President João Lourenço in the Oval Office on Thursday as he seeks to reaffirm his commitment to Africa even as two wars consume much of his administration's foreign policy focus.
The White House meeting comes as Biden appears set to break his commitment to African leaders to visit the continent this year — though senior US officials have made key trips to Africa throughout 2023.
”They’re a strategic partner and a growing global voice on issues of peace and security," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Thursday, adding that the two leaders would discuss economic and security cooperation as well as regional and global issues.
Lobbyists for Lourenço had petitioned Biden administration officials to set up the meeting between the two leaders for months, warning that the absence of such a high-profile engagement could jeopardize Angola's commitment to working with the US.
Trans-African Corridor
The visit comes months after Biden and allies among the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations unveiled a Trans-African Corridor connecting the Angolan port of Lobito with landlocked areas of the African continent: the Kananga province in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the copper mining regions of Zambia.
It's part of a global infrastructure program championed by Biden that is meant as a counterweight to China's Belt and Road initiative.
Much of Biden's recent foreign policy focus has been on Russia's war in Ukraine and the fighting between Israel and Hamas.
