U.S. President Joe Biden has headed to Angola and Cape Verde in his only African state visit as U.S. presidents continue to ignore Nigeria under the All Progressives Congress administrations.
Mr Biden though was at a United Nations climate summit hosted in Egypt in 2022.
Mr Biden first stopped in Cape Verde for a brief, closed-door meeting with Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva.
On Monday, Mr Biden arrived in Angola for a two-day visit. His visit was highly anticipated in Angola, and for President João Lourenço, it could be his biggest diplomatic achievement since taking office in 2017.
The last U.S. president to visit Nigeria was George W. Bush in 2003. Prior to that time, former President Bill Clinton in 2000. Both state visits were made during the PDP administration under President Olusegun Obasanjo. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter (now late) visited Mr Obasanjo (then Nigeria’s military head of state) in 1978.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama visited Ghana in 2009 but snubbed Nigeria.
Mr Biden had pledged in 2022 to come to the continent to strengthen ties and counter China’s influence. The U.S. government has also expressed interest in greater access to central Africa’s valuable minerals.
The U.S. has sought to justify its investment in the Lobito Corridor—a railway project from Angola’s Lobito port to Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo—on national security and “green energy” grounds.
The outgoing U.S. president is also expected to discuss human rights during the trip.
In Angola, Mr Biden plans to meet with Mr Lourenço, visit the National Slavery Museum, and travel to the port city of Lobito to look at the rail project.
There is a public holiday in Angola to mark the visit of the U.S. president.
