Lobito – Joe Biden on Wednesday lauded a landmark railway infrastructure project aimed at countering China’s investments in Africa as a “game changer” while on a historic first visit to Angola by a US president.
On the second day of his trip to the former Portuguese colony, Biden said the “Lobito Corridor”, a major railway route that should eventually crisscross the continent from east to west, would transform the lives of Africans for the better.
“All these projects and investments are designed to have high impact and meet the highest standards for workers, for the environment and for the communities,” the outgoing president said.
“Because the United States understands how we invest in Africa is just as important as how much we invest in Africa.”
With the United States seeking to regain influence in the face of China’s advanced overtures, Biden had promised to visit sub-Saharan Africa during his time in office.
But the trip takes place as the Democrat readies to hand over the White House to his Republican rival Donald Trump, raising questions about the impact of the visit.
The 82-year-old appeared visibly tired while meeting leaders from Angola, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Tanzania.
All those countries are involved in the project, which aims to help the transport of critical minerals from the inland countries to the Atlantic via Angola’s Lobito port.
‘Transformative‘
The Lobito railway, also funded by the European Union and others, will reduce the time needed to transport minerals from the DRC and Zambia to Angola from 45 days to 45 hours, according to the US administration.
Part of the project’s objectives is to secure the United States’ access to supplies of metals and raw materials crucial to the transition to a low-carbon economy.
Announcing another $600 million in US investment, Biden argued that the project would benefit communities around the railway, joking that he would come back to catch the train himself.
“Imagine how transformative this will be for technology, clean energy, for farming, for food security as a whole,” the outgoing president said.
“It’s faster, it’s cleaner, it’s cheaper, and most importantly, I think it’s just plain common sense.”
His Angolan counterpart Joao Lourenco, 70, called the project a “milestone”, while Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema said the railway would benefit “not just us – it’s good for Africa”.
Speaking from a food processing factory which Biden paid a quick visit to with the other heads of state, the DRC’s president Felix Tshisekedi declared the railway “a symbol of our collective will”.
Biden then flew back to the United States, after having previously inspected the facilities at the Lobito port around 500 kilometres (310 miles) south of the capital Luanda.
‘Extractive and exploitative’
During his mandate, Biden sought to launch a diplomatic and economic offensive towards African countries.
That followed several years of neglect during Trump’s first term of Africa which the Republican president-elect once reportedly described as home to “shithole countries”.
Biden’s team said it was confident that Trump, who will be sworn in on January 20, will support the project that is widely seen as an alternative to Chinese investments on the continent.
Beijing is often accused of burdening African countries with debts that are impossible for them to honour.
“You can’t stand up and say, I want to compete with China… and not support what’s happening here,” a senior administration official said.
Trump is known for wanting to be “tough” on China and has promised blanket tariffs, raising concerns of a trade war.
For the Lobito Corridor to be a real success, the United States will have to cooperate with China because it “dominates the mining sector” in particular in the DRC and Zambia, according to Mvemba Phezo Dizolele, director of the Africa Program at the DC-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“Critics of the (Lobito) project,” he said, “charge that it is as extractive and exploitative as the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative” — China’s flagship international infrastructure project.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Pixabay
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