President Joe Biden will visit Angola on Sunday to advance a U.S.-backed railway project aimed at redirecting Africa’s critical mineral exports from China to Western markets. The Lobito Atlantic Railway, supported by a $550 million U.S. Development Finance Corporation loan, connects the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia to Angola’s Lobito port on the Atlantic Ocean.
The project seeks to create a faster export route for vital resources like copper and cobalt, used in batteries and electronics, while reducing China’s grip on Congo’s mining sector. Beijing, which has invested heavily in the region, recently agreed to restore a competing rail link from Tanzania to Zambia on Africa’s eastern coast.
Biden’s two-day trip will include a tour of Lobito port, a visit to a slavery museum in Luanda, and meetings with Angolan officials. His visit signals growing U.S. interest in Angola, which has pivoted from historic ties with China and Russia to closer cooperation with Western nations.
The rail project, a partnership with global firms Trafigura, Mota-Engil, and Vecturis, is seen as a test case for U.S.-supported infrastructure development in Africa. Angola’s transport minister, Ricardo Viegas d’Abreu, said Western neglect allowed China’s influence to grow, but the nation welcomes partnerships that drive economic growth.
