Since taking office seven years ago, President João Lourenço of Angola has cast aside Cold War allegiances and made an aggressive push to draw his southern African nation closer to the United States.
The fruits of those efforts will be on display next week when President Biden becomes the first sitting U.S. leader to visit Angola, an oil-rich country on the Atlantic Ocean.
The visit is largely meant to draw attention to Mr. Biden’s signature effort in Africa: investment in an 800-mile railway known as the Lobito Corridor that U.S. officials say will transport minerals needed for clean energy, attract private investment and spark broader development in Angola. It’s also an effort to counter the influence of China, which has been heavily invested in Angola for years.
During an interview at the presidential palace in the capital, Luanda, Mr. Lourenço discussed his hopes for the visit with Mr. Biden and what he expects to happen when President-elect Donald J. Trump takes office next year.
The interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Clearly, you are making an effort to reach out and draw closer to the United States. Why?
We want to have U.S. investment coming to Angola and also having the U.S. market as a destination of Angolan investment. And for such, of course, we need to take this step.
What do you hope to get out of President Biden’s visit?
When you as head of state visit a country, that conveys a sign of confidence to the U.S. businesses. So when he comes, that also is a way of telling U.S. investors that you may come and invest in various areas of our economy.
So far, the U.S. investment we’ve had is only focused in the oil and gas industry. We now hope that as he comes, there might be a diversification of the U.S. investment in the various areas of our own economy.
Do you think the election of Donald J. Trump will affect your country’s relationship with the United States?
We aren’t concerned with a change that has happened in the U.S. administration. This is not something dramatic. It’s something normal in democracy. Powers come and go. So all we have to do is to be ready to work with those that will be in power.
Based on what you have seen from his previous administration and what you’ve heard, what is your impression of Mr. Trump?
My opinion is that he deserves the confidence of the U.S. voters. And he’s the one whom Angola and all the countries of the world will have to work with if they are to maintain relations with the United States.
During his last presidency, Mr. Trump used offensive language to disparage African countries. How do you feel about that?
Let’s just see how he will act and how he’s going to treat the African countries, because we don’t need to make any speculation for now. So we cannot judge him on what he said, but we will judge him on what he will do.
Critics say the Lobito Corridor repeats old patterns of colonial extraction of natural resources from Africa. Is that a concern for you?
I’m not concerned. Today, when we export the minerals, we export them in the interest of the African countries, different from what used to be in the colonial period when they were extracted without the consent of our Indigenous people.
We think the rail will not only serve as a means of transiting minerals. We are going also to set up agriculture and industrial plants along the Lobito Corridor.
China has done a lot to help Angola. And your country has taken on a lot of debt from China. Do you plan to approach your relationship with China differently in the coming years?
We are aware that having that debt bound to collateral as oil was disadvantageous for the country. But at that time we accepted that condition. And for such we had to abide by our word. And this is what we are doing. We are paying off the debt. If you would ask me now if I had to take a new loan under the same conditions, I would say no.
You know that the United States and China are competing for influence around the world, including on the African continent and in your country. How do you manage that as a leader?
Clearly that is a nonissue on my side because the world is not made up of only two countries. Angola also does have political and economic and diplomatic relations with a majority of the countries of the world. And, of course, we need to continue with this position because we know that the world is not only made of big countries.
The way they put it, is like either you are with the one or with the other. If you choose one, you have to preclude the other one. And this is the way you’ve put it, like the United States or China. And one has to choose who’s the best. That’s not the case. That’s not how we see it.
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