Africa-Press – Angola. The US ambassador accredited in Luanda, Tulinabo Mushingi, considers the meeting between Presidents João Lourenço and Joe Biden, scheduled for tomorrow, at the White House, a reflection of the recognition of the positive results of the partnership between Angola and the United States of America (USA ) and an opportunity to further boost relations between the two peoples.
In the statement made public yesterday, on the occasion of the meeting between the two Heads of State, the diplomat called the visit a significant demonstration of the partnership that has registered, over the last 30 years, “drastic growth”, a fact that, in his opinion, reflects the recognition from their respective leaders that Angola and the United States can achieve greater results for their respective peoples.
Tulinabo Mushingi, who will also participate in the meeting at the US President’s official residence, made it known that the Biden Administration is committed to creating, with the Angolan Executive, more opportunities to enhance development with mutual benefits.
During the meeting, the two Presidents are expected to discuss the growth of US investments in Angola, the increase in bilateral trade and the strengthening of cooperation in partnership initiatives for global infrastructure and investments, in the areas of climate, energy and transformative infrastructures, such as the Lobito Corridor.
Tulinabo Mushingi said he believes the visit will serve to reinforce Angola’s leadership in fundamental peace and security initiatives at a regional and global level. “After my return to Angola, I look forward to the opportunity to discuss the outcome of the meeting in more detail”, concluded the US ambassador.
Angola and the USA established formal diplomatic relations in 1993. Currently, Angola is the USA’s third largest trading partner in Sub-Saharan Africa, mainly due to oil exports. The two countries cooperate in several areas, with emphasis on trade, finance, energy, manufacturing, security, health and justice. Trade between Angola and the USA reached, until November 2019, around 1.4 billion dollars.
New image for Angola
Political analyst Joseph dos Santos said that the meeting between the two statesmen, in the oval office of the White House, also marks Angola’s entry into a new field of international politics.
Joseph dos Santos highlighted that the visit will also boost the country’s image, taking into account that the main flag of the Angolan Head of State, in operation since 2017, is in line with what has always been the flag of the Americans in matters of equality, combating corruption, nepotism and equality in the distribution of wealth, in addition to freedom of expression.
Among the topics to be addressed, Joseph dos Santos also highlighted regional security, as it is one of the issues that President João Lourenço has carried out, with emphasis on the situation in the DRC, Rwanda, Central African Republic and other regions.
For the analyst, stability in general in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the issue of the Gulf of Guinea and its security, is a matter that also greatly interests President Joe Biden and, in this regard, “I think he wants to hear (the opinion) of the main play maker in the region and Champion of Peace”.
“These are matters that President João Lourenço has advocated a lot and today Angola is in a much better position to also discuss these matters and others with the United States of America”, highlighted Joseph dos Santos.
Stimulating the trade balance
Joseph dos Santos believes that the meeting between Presidents Joe Biden and João Lourenço will also boost the trade balance. “We just need to look at the investment attraction policies that President João Lourenço has promoted”, he maintained.
From the analyst’s perspective, today we have North American citizens who can enter the country without much bureaucracy and visas. This measure, he said, will allow North American businesspeople to invest in the country and look at this diversity of untapped wealth.
In 2021, he recalled, the US GDP registered 22.9 billion dollars, having increased to 26.9 billion dollars in 2023. “We are talking about the largest and most robust economy in the world”, he highlighted.
This economy, in terms of goods and services, continued Joseph dos Santos, has a lot to offer to Angola, which is a practically virgin market, compared to that of the United States of America.
This entire matrix, both the opening of the country in legal terms and a more flexible discourse, contributes to attracting and capturing American investments and allowing everything that is produced locally to be exported to the United States.
“Unfortunately we still have a trade balance that is heavily tilted towards the minerals sector. Oil is what Angola exports most to the United States, but I think that, in the near future and depending on this new visit, a change could happen.”
Regarding the Lobito Corridor, one of the issues on the agenda of the two Heads of State, the Americans invested more than 930 million euros in this project, which combines three countries, namely Angola, DRC and the Republic of Zambia.
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