Biden says 'US is all in on Africa' during Angola visit

Joe Biden pledged greater American investment in the African continent during a visit to Angola on Tuesday.

It was the first visit to Angola by a US president. 

Saying the United States "is all in on Africa," Biden promoted billions of dollars in commitments to Angola during his trip and he visited a slavery museum, where he sought to acknowledge the human trafficking that once linked the two nations.

In particular, Biden pledged more investment in the Lobito Corridor railway project. 

The project is a rail link between Lobito on Angola's Atlantic coast, the Copperbelt in Zambia, and the cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It would connect resource rich central Africa with an Atlantic port.

Angolan President Joao Lourenco said Biden's visit was a key turning point in US-Angola relations, which date back to the Cold War.

Angola seeks foreign investment and security ties

Biden's trip has been seen as an attempt by the US to counter China's influence in Africa.

"We don't think, because we're bigger and more powerful, that we're smarter. We don't think we have all the answers," Biden told the Angolan president during a briefing with reporters ahead of a closed meeting.

Lourenco said Angola wanted to work with the US to attract foreign investment and improve defense and security ties.

He praised Biden's "vision and leadership" on the Lobito Corridor, saying it would "always be remembered."

The Lobito Corridor is part of the American Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI), which many see this as a reaction to China's Belt and Road Initiative.

Biden also pledged more humanitarian support for Africa. "I'm announcing over $1 billion of new humanitarian support for Africans displaced from homes by historic droughts," Biden said in Angola.

According to a statement from the US Agency for International Development, the money would "address food insecurity and other urgent needs of refugees, internally displaced persons, and affected communities in 31 African countries."

Biden meets 'first US-born slave' descendant

Later on Tuesday, Biden toured Angola's National Slavery Museum, which was once the headquarters of the Capela da Casa Grande.

The structure was a 17th century temple where slaves were baptized before they were forced onto ships that took them to America in chains.

Biden delivered remarks at the museum, recalling on slavery as "our nation's original sin, one that haunted America."

The US president met briefly with Wanda Tucker, a descendant of William Tucker, who was the first enslaved child born in the US, the White House said. 

William Tucker was born in modern-day Virgnia, as his parents were brought there from Angola in  1619 aboard a Portuguese ship. 

jcg/zc (AP/Reuters)