You should have come earlier to Africa, Biden told

President Joe Biden gestures next to Prime Minister of Cabo Verde Ulisses Correia e Silva and Jose Luis Livramento, Cabo Verde ambassador to the US on the tarmac of the Amilcar Cabral International Airport near Espargos, Cape Verde, on Dec. 2, 2024.[VOA]

After promising to visit Africa two years ago at the U.S. Africa summit in Washington, President Joe Biden makes his first presidential trip to the continent where he is visiting Angola with a quick stop in Cabo Verde. Analysts in Africa say the trip should’ve come sooner and some are asking why Angola is the primary destination – given its troubling human rights record.

White House officials say President Joe Biden is looking forward to visiting the continent after a promise he made in 2022. But some analysts tell VOA that Biden’s trip, which comes weeks before he steps down, would’ve had more weight if he had done it earlier.

Louw Nel, senior political analyst for Oxford Economics Africa, spoke to VOA from South Africa.

“I think his trip is less significant than it would’ve been otherwise just because of the fact that he withdrew as a presidential candidate and, of course, now [is] not returning for a second term. So, it really feels like an afterthought to his presidency,” said Nel.

After a short stop in the island nation of Cabo Verde off Africa’s northwestern coast, President Biden heads south to Angola.

There, officials say he plans to focus on US leadership on trade, investment, and infrastructure in Africa. He’ll also recognize Angola’s President João Lourenço’s regional leadership and global partnership on trade, security, and health.

More importantly, President Biden will highlight one of his signature initiatives, the investment of the Lobito Corridor — a regional railway project linking natural resource-rich areas stretching from the Angolan port of Lobito to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia.

The corridor is part of a wider joint effort between multiple partners aimed at closing the infrastructure gap in growing economies around the world, officials say.

Dr Frances Brown, special assistant to the president and senior director for African Affairs at the National Security Council, spoke about the broader benefits associated with the project.

“What I found really notable about the Lobito Corridor is that it isn’t just about a railroad or critical minerals. It’s also about the communities that are strengthened along the way, it’s about more access to education, it’s about agricultural products moving to market, and it’s about increases in digital connectivity,” said Brown.

Last year, U.S.-Angola trade totalled approximately $1.77 billion, making Angola America’s fourth-largest trade partner in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Angola has vast mineral deposits and is Africa’s third-largest oil producer. But according to Amnesty International, the country’s natural resource wealth has not translated to prosperity for most of its people, resulting in numerous peaceful protests against poverty, unemployment and high cost of living.

Nel says some Angolans may see a benefit with this Biden visit.

“Many ordinary Angolans will recognize that Angola desperately  needs to diversify its economy, and this is an enormous opportunity to do so, to move away from oil and gas and bolster other parts of the economy and it has massive potential,” said Nel.

But others including human rights campaigners and opposition parties, Nel says, will feel aggrieved by President Biden’s visit because they see the Lourenco administration as being rewarded despite growing concerns about the shrinking space for independent civil society organizations and freedom of expression.

In a new report, Amnesty International said that anyone who publicly criticizes the Lourenço government risks arrest. And “if human rights are central to President Biden’s foreign policy, then he must demand Angola’s government immediately …free arbitrarily detained government critics.”

Adriano Nuvunga, who runs the Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Mozambique, echoes that sentiment.

“I commend the people of Angola and President Lourenço for hosting President Biden. It means a lot for the people of Angola. While I commend them, I would also want to encourage President Biden to ask those tough questions to President João Lourenço," said Nuvunga. "We have a number of human rights defenders in Angola that are detained unjustly, unfairly for doing nothing. They are languishing in jails, some of them in critical conditions,” said Nuvunga.

Nuvunga hopes that this could be addressed during this trip.