Dec. 2 (UPI) — President Joe Biden departed the United States for Angola on Sunday night, fulfilling his promise to visit the African continent before his term ends in January.
Biden boarded Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland after 10 p.m. EST Sunday. He is scheduled to arrive in Sal, Cabo Verde, Monday morning for a brief refueling stop and a 9 a.m. local time meeting with Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva of Cabo Verde.
Afterward, he will depart the West African island nation for Luanda, Angola, where he is expected to arrive around 6 p.m., according to an itinerary provided by the White House press pool.
He will return to the United States on Thursday.
Biden had pledged to visit Africa in late 2022 during the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in 2022. With the trip, Biden becomes the first U.S. president to visit the region since President Barack Obama visited in 2015. He also becomes the first sitting president to ever visit Angola.
Senior Biden administration officials told reporters during a press call on the trip over the weekend, that the president aims to deepen the United States’ relationship not only with Angola but with other African nations, where Russia and China have significantly increased their influence in recent years.
While in Luanda, Biden is expected to deliver remarks alongside President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço. He will laying out their countries’ shared history and enduring relationship.
“He’ll discuss how, together with our African partners, the U.S. is working to narrow the infrastructure gap in Africa, expand economic opportunities on the continent, expand technological and scientific cooperation, and bolster peace and security,” according to a senior administration official, who described the trip as “historic.”
Biden is also expected make several announcements during the trip, including 12 deals in Angola with a combined value of $6.9 billion.
A series of “deliverables” will also be announced, the official said, adding they will be related to global health security, agribusiness, security cooperation and preserving Angola’s cultural heritage. Biden is also expected to voice his support for Angola’s nomination of the Kwanza Corridor to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The officials said the the trip will “put us back on the field” to compete against investment from Russia but specifically China, which has put tens of billions of dollars into projects across the continent.
They said that while the administration doesn’t oppose Chinese investment in Africa, it has to have meaningful impact on the lives of the local communities.
They are hearing from the people on the continent that they want an alternative from Beijing investment, and Biden will present the United States as that alternative.
“That is the choice that is now available to countries throughout the region. Not looking at, ‘Do I have to accept Chinese investment with low standards and child labor and corruption?’ — but ‘Do I have another offering to compare it to?’ And again, this is what President Biden has wanted to transform our relationship in the region, is to offer a different — more investment, but with higher standards,” the official said.