(Luanda) American Secretary of State Antony Blinken ends Thursday in Angola an African tour aimed at maintaining Washington’s influence on a continent where China and Russia are increasingly present.
After Nigeria, a demographic giant and Africa’s largest economy, he arrived Wednesday evening in Luanda, the capital of this former Portuguese colony and a major oil producer.
He is due to meet Thursday morning with President Joao Lourenço, who met Joe Biden at the White House two months ago, before leaving this southern African country in the afternoon.
The two countries have become closer in recent years. President Biden hailed a partnership “more important than ever” in November, after receiving his counterpart.
The United States has particularly invested in the “Lobito Corridor”, a major infrastructure project linking the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia via the port of Lobito in Angola.
Angola’s recent withdrawal from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), amid disagreement over oil production quotas, is also expected to be discussed, as are Angola’s efforts to end the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Before Angola, Antony Blinken visited Cape Verde, Ivory Coast and Nigeria.
Mr. Blinken’s visit comes in the wake of that of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi who visited Ivory Coast, the last stop of an African tour which took him to Egypt, Tunisia and Togo.
Washington considers Beijing its main strategic rival and presents itself as a better partner for Africa than China, which finances large infrastructure projects with loans.
But the last visit by an American president to Africa dates back to 2015, when Barack Obama visited Kenya and Ethiopia.