US President Joe Biden will make his first presidential trip to Africa next week. will visit Angola and will make a stopover in Cape Verde, he told the VOA a senior White House official.
Your visit will focus on the Lobito Corridor, a 1,300 kilometer railway line that brings resources from the continent’s rich interior to Angola’s busiest port.
Philip Alexiou of the VOA spoke exclusively with Frances Brown, senior director of African affairs at the National Security Council.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
VOA: How does the president feel about this trip and what does he want to accomplish?
Frances Brown, White House Director of African Affairs: He’s excited and looking forward to the trip. The president often talks about how it is impossible to meet today’s global challenges without African leadership and African partnership, and we really see Angola as Exhibit A. We are working with Angola on some really important things. One of them is to strengthen peace and security in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Another is the growing economic opportunities in the region. A third is technological and scientific cooperation.
VOA: What are the results? Will they be substantial?
Brown: You’ll see a lot of announcements and deliverables in the Lobito Corridor. The United States has already mobilized billions of dollars toward the corridor. I think the president can be expected to participate in various components of that infrastructure effort. I think you can also expect to hear more about the Millennium Challenge Corporation, which recently signed a pact in Zambia. And I think you will hear many new results on global health security, agribusiness and new forms of cooperation in the security sector.
VOA: With so many parties moving in these efforts, what level of transparency can the United States ensure? What kind of accountability can you offer to the people of the region?
Brown: This is something really important to the president. The Lobito Corridor is about investment, about infrastructure, but also about ensuring that it benefits communities more broadly. It is part of a broader initiative, the Global Infrastructure and Investment Partnership, that the president has introduced. And this really indicates how under President Biden’s administration we’ve moved from an aid-driven model of engagement with Africa to an investment-driven model, and how we’re thinking creatively about how to demonstrate that value proposition. When we think about the Lobito Corridor, it’s all about sustainable economic development, it’s about a transparent hiring process. This is about ensuring it boosts regional trade, creates quality jobs and improves lives.
VOA: Is President Biden going to raise human rights issues with Angolan President Joao Lorenzo?
Brown: President Biden never shies away from discussing issues of democracy and human rights with his counterparts. And I think that’s pretty consistent with the way he’s been throughout his long career in public service.
VOA: Focusing now on Sudan, President Biden has called for peace. It is one of the worst crises we have seen in a long time. The UN says it is a neglected and ignored crisis, the worst humanitarian situation in recent history. Does the administration see it that way? And what can be done?
Brown: President Biden has been very outspoken about Sudan. As you may have seen in his great speech to the UN General Assembly, he spoke about the level of suffering in Sudan. He spoke of how it was essential that the generals silence the guns and that we avoid a wider famine. He has also been quite direct in asking those who are obstructing humanitarian assistance to let that aid in. You have also talked about external actors being an important part of this equation.
This month, all members of the UN Security Council except Russia voted in favor of a resolution that would have called for more humanitarian assistance, protection for civilians and an end to violence. The president has ordered his team to work so hard. The secretary [de Estado Antony] Blinken, in recent weeks, has continued to engage regional states and other actors to push for unimpeded humanitarian access.
VOA: Moving on to the Sahel, several French-speaking countries are forming new regional blocs, moving away from the West and in some ways aligning themselves with Russian mercenaries, the Wagner Group and groups of this nature. How concerning is this for the administration?
Brown: Although the changes you have mentioned have occurred in the Sahel states (particularly Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali), other West African partners, including those on the coast, have made it very clear to us that they want durability and longevity of the United States’ security commitment in the region. So, we continue to work very closely on that. I would also say, more generally, that President Biden has made it very clear that he believes it is important that we continue to engage, especially with democratic partners. And on this next trip, the president will also stop in West Africa, in Cape Verde, which is a key democratic partner on the continent.
VOA: Is there anything the United States can do to counter extremism on the continent, especially since its influence has been degraded since it had to leave Niger?
Brown: It’s worth remembering that we don’t have a military footprint in most countries on the continent. And that has always been the case. We make security agreements with host countries, with partners based on specific shared interests. And across the administration, we have worked to foster mutually beneficial security partnerships working for, with and through African partners. This is how we see those collaborations.
VOA: Finally, the continent is very young: the average age is around 19 years old. And their leaders are really old. How does American leadership address this?
Brown: You’re absolutely right. It is an extremely young continent and it is the future. President Biden often talks about how, by 2050, one in four humans on Earth will be from Africa. So that’s what largely guides President Biden’s commitment to the continent. I think the way the administration is moving forward on this is by thinking that no challenge that we are trying to solve globally can be solved without African partnership and leadership. That is why we have defended African voices in the United Nations Security Council, on the boards of international financial institutions and in the G20; we successfully got the seat of the African Union there. So I think from the administration’s perspective, the best way to approach it is to continue to elevate and champion African voices so that they can be part of shaping the future.
Brown: It’s worth remembering that we don’t have a military footprint in most countries on the continent. And that has always been the case. We make security agreements with host countries, with partners based on specific shared interests. And across the administration, we have worked to foster mutually beneficial security partnerships working for, with and through African partners. This is how we see those collaborations.
VOA: What legacy does the president want to leave behind when he leaves the continent and leaves his position as president?
Brown: I think the president wants to, first of all, recognize the leadership and partnership of the United States, particularly on trade, investment and a new approach to the continent that is defined not by aid, but by investment and the association. I think he wants to leave behind his recognition that African leadership in resolving some of these challenges is essential, and that is why he will expand Angola’s mediation role in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and elsewhere. And I think he wants to convey the remarkable evolution of the U.S.-Angola partnership, which is in many ways the story of the remarkable evolution of the U.S.-Africa relationship over many centuries.
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