Why hasn’t US President Biden made any state visits to Africa?

Joe Biden’s planned travel to Angola connected October 13 was meant to beryllium historic. It would person been his archetypal sojourn to Africa during his tenure arsenic president of the United States.

But arsenic Hurricane Milton precocious connected Florida past week, the White House postponed the travel to an unspecified date, alongside a sojourn to Germany wherever Biden was scheduled to speech to European leaders astir the Ukraine warfare earlier heading to Luanda.

The outgoing US president’s travel was him yet making bully connected respective promises to sojourn Africa. For Angola, the sojourn was acceptable to present a diplomatic triumph for President Joao Lourenco’s troubled authorities portion giving the Southern African federation determination bragging rights arsenic Washington’s chosen state aft a decade’s absence.

While the origin of the postponement is reasonable, critics accidental Biden ne'er truly seemed keen connected prioritising Africa successful the archetypal place, adjacent arsenic rival satellite powers similar China and Russia aggressively grow their footprints connected a continent they see important for its important earthy resources, rapidly increasing population, and sizeable voting bloc successful the United Nations.

Since Biden’s predetermination into bureau successful 2020, helium has not acceptable ft successful immoderate African country, contempt his medication insisting that it prioritises the needs of the continent’s 1.3 cardinal radical and respects its leaders. In contrast, Biden has managed to question to Europe respective times – 5 times to the United Kingdom unsocial – arsenic good arsenic to countries successful the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.

“The Biden medication has fallen abbreviated of its ain rhetoric,” Cameron Hudson, a elder Africa expert astatine the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Al Jazeera. Even the Luanda travel appeared arsenic a “hastily organised” last-ditch effort for the president arsenic helium approached his last months successful office, Hudson added.

“Ironically, [an Africa trip] astir apt matters much to Biden, who is searching to found a bequest successful Africa and wants to marque bully connected a committedness helium has made repeatedly, than for Africa, which is already preparing for his successor.”

US President Joe Biden with the leaders of the US-Africa Leaders Summit successful Washington, DC, connected December 15, 2022 [Brendan Smialowski/AFP]

Big promises, small action

Biden archetypal promised to sojourn Africa successful December 2022. He was talking with 49 African leaders who had gathered successful Washington, DC for the US-Africa Leaders Summit.

The acme was held erstwhile US power connected the continent had already waned drastically: China overtook the US successful commercialized measurement with Africa successful 2019. Since 2021, countries successful the West African Sahel portion person besides turned to Russia for information partnerships – adjacent kicking retired Western and US troops stationed there.

After a feast successful the White House, Biden made solemn promises to his counterparts: the US would enactment to spot that African countries get imperishable seats astatine the UN Security Council (UNSC) – a extremity that the African Union (AU) has pursued for 20 years.

Washington would besides spot that the AU is recommended to articulation the Group of 20, helium added, to large applause from the grinning leaders. The radical represents two-thirds of planetary gross home merchandise (GDP) and trade.

“The United States is each successful connected Africa and each successful with Africa,” Biden declared. “Africa belongs astatine the array successful each country – successful each country wherever planetary challenges are being discussed and successful each instauration wherever discussions are taking place.”

A $55bn enactment bundle to the AU for healthcare, infrastructure and a big of different sectors topped disconnected the hearty speech.

However, galore of the promises person not been achieved, Hudson said. Biden’s nonaccomplishment to lucifer his actions with his words comes mostly from the administration’s archetypal laxness to the continent, helium added.

Indeed, Biden’s White House did not prosecute and people a argumentation papers outlining its planned relations with Africa until August 2022.

“That lone near him 2 years to physique a legacy, which isn’t capable clip to person overmuch existent interaction and evidently adjacent little clip to organise a sojourn to the continent,” Hudson said.

When it surfaced, analysts called the much-anticipated Africa Strategy papers “ambitious” and “modern”. It shifted distant from erstwhile President Donald Trump’s absorption connected commercialized relations and tracking assistance dollars by promising to elevate African practice astatine planetary planetary institutions, strengthening economies and boosting clime adaptation.

However, enthusiasm astir the argumentation dampened gradually, particularly aft Biden’s exit from the statesmanlike contention successful July.

Some experts enactment that Biden clinched immoderate wins. The AU was admitted arsenic a imperishable subordinate of the G20 successful September 2023. US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield besides announced past period that her state would enactment 2 imperishable UNSC seats for Africa – although, she caveated, without veto power.

Biden besides deployed a flurry of US officials to the continent. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has made 4 trips to Africa. In the past 1 successful January, helium caught an African Cup of Nations crippled successful Ivory Coast and helped mediate bid betwixt disputing neighbours Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Vice President Kamala Harris excessively was successful Ghana, Tanzania, and Zambia for a week successful March 2023, alongside Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff.

US vs China and Russia

However, pushing for Africa to person a imperishable spot connected the UNSC without veto powerfulness is akin to relegating its citizens to the second-class category, Tim Murithi, a prof and probe subordinate astatine the University of Cape Town, argued successful South Africa’s Daily Maverick.

“In effect, Africa would erstwhile again beryllium confined to the presumption of spectators successful UNSC decisions that impact the lives of its people, repeating the humanities exclusion of African countries that transpired successful June 1945 erstwhile the UN was formally established successful San Francisco,” Murithi wrote, referring to a clip erstwhile astir African countries were inactive colonised and not represented astatine the body.

Besides, Blinken and Harris’s visits bash not transportation the needed weight, Hudson said. Biden’s erstwhile boss, President Barack Obama, visited Africa 8 times.

“Presidential trips to Africa are uncommon capable that they ever matter, though admittedly, this 1 would substance little coming arsenic it does astatine the precise extremity of a lame-duck presidency,” helium added.

In contrast, China’s Xi Jinping has visited the continent thrice. His past sojourn was to South Africa successful August 2023 for a acme of BRICS (Brazil, India, China, and South Africa) – a radical analysts accidental wants to rival the Group of Seven countries. When African leaders travelled to Beijing for the China-Africa acme successful September, analysts noted however Xi met galore African leaders one-on-one and took them connected a circuit of the capital.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin excessively was successful South Africa successful 2013 for a BRICS meeting. He was forced to articulation past year’s gathering digitally owed to planetary unit connected Pretoria to apprehension him based connected warrants issued by the International Criminal Court successful March 2023 for his warfare successful Ukraine.

Even Biden’s determination to sojourn Angola – if that happens – is faulty, critics say. Both sides person touted deepening commercialized and subject ties, arsenic good arsenic accrued aerial connectivity. They adjacent signed a abstraction exploration woody past year.

More importantly, though, Angola is charismatic to the US due to the fact that of the Lobito Corridor, an unfinished $1bn railway task that volition spot precious minerals from the DRC transported to Angola’s Lobito port.

The US has pumped $3bn into the project. However, immoderate accidental that this appears to beryllium Biden’s biggest bequest connected the continent is odd. The woody yet focuses connected taking resources and resembles the “exploitation” the US has accused China of undertaking connected the continent, immoderate note.

Controversial ally

While Biden’s authorities lauds Angola arsenic a adjacent state and “regional leader”, immoderate Angolans are sceptical of the relationship.

President Lourenco’s authorities is profoundly unpopular due to the fact that of precocious surviving costs, corruption, and mounting quality rights abuses. In June, authorities opened occurrence connected protesters aggravated astatine inflation, sidesplitting 8 radical successful the cardinal Huambo province. Several others were arrested successful cities crossed the country.

Lourenco’s People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) party, which has been successful powerfulness since independency from Portugal successful 1975, is besides successful the throes of an interior powerfulness conflict that has weakened the president’s image.

Biden has not mentioned these rights issues – not adjacent erstwhile helium hosted Lourenco successful the White House past November. His closeness to Lourenco, experts say, could beryllium seen arsenic emboldening the Angolan government.

“Lourenco has invested heavy successful lobbying efforts to amended his representation successful Washington. However, astatine home, helium faces protests,” said Florindo Chivuvute, manager of Friends of Angola, a radical advocating for stronger antiauthoritarian values successful Angola and based successful Luanda and Washington, DC.

“[The US] should not compromise its halfway values of ideology and quality rights successful an effort to drawback up. These values separate the US from China and resonate with Angolans,” helium said.

Angola warmed to the US lone recently. Historically, the state leaned towards Russia, and successful the aboriginal 2000s, towards China. The past authorities opted for Chinese loans alternatively than from institutions similar the World Bank.

However, galore Angolans saw that arsenic lone benefitting the governmental elite due to the fact that of a notorious obscurity experts accidental is connected with Chinese funding.

For Biden, wrenching Angola from China oregon Russia mightiness beryllium seen arsenic a success, but experts accidental it is not 1 galore Angolans recognise.

With his word each but over, determination is small Biden could bash present to boost his anemic African legacy, analysts say.

Even the fewer successes helium scored present hinge connected who helium volition walk the baton to, Hudson said. While Harris mightiness not sway excessively acold from her predecessor, Trump’s “shithole” nations comment astir African countries is inactive caller for many.

Biden’s unfulfilled promises volition ever beryllium a stain, though.

“The occupation with unmet expectations is that they sting much than promises ne'er made,” Hudson said.

“Ultimately, it is little the Biden administration’s policies toward Africa that volition beryllium judged than the spread betwixt those policies and the expectations the medication set.”</p >< p>