Angola lures US leader

BIDEN: CHOICE OF COUNTRY HIGHLIGHTS INFLUENCE OF OILRICH NATION

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Visit to centre of massive railway rehabilitation project.

Joe Biden's choice of Angola for his first trip to Africa as president underscores the influence of the oil-rich country as the focus of one of the biggest US infrastructure projects on the continent in a counterpoint to China's investments.

Biden's 13-15 October visit, which comes just months before his term ends, will centre on a massive multinational project to rehabilitate a 1 300km railway that will connect mineral-rich inland countries with Angola's Atlantic seaport of Lobito.

The Lobito Corridor project, due to break ground in early 2026, will transport resources critical to the global economy, including copper and cobalt, from mines in the DRC and Zambia to the port for export.

The project is a piece in the geopolitical battle between the United States and its allies and China, which owns mines in the DRC and Zambia, among an array of investments in the region.