Biden to Visit Angola, Germany in First Trip Since Exiting Election
(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden plans to visit Africa in October — with a stop beforehand in Germany — fulfilling a promise to visit the continent before he leaves office and signaling its importance to Washington.
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Biden will travel to Germany and Angola from Oct. 10-15, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Tuesday. It will be his first trip abroad since withdrawing from the presidential race in July and endorsing Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
The stops highlight two of the outgoing president’s priorities — maintaining and strengthening ties with allies in Europe and expanding US economic and security links with Africa.
The US president has developed an especially close relationship with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as the two men kept together an alliance to support Ukraine in its fight over the last two and a half years to repel Russia’s war machine.
“The president will reinforce the U.S. and German commitment to democracy and countering antisemitism and hatred, strengthen the enduring people-to-people ties between our countries, and advance cooperation on economics, trade, and technology,” Jean-Pierre said in her statement. She said Biden would also “express his appreciation” for Germany’s aid for Ukraine and its contribution to NATO.
While in Berlin, Biden could also visit the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, though details of the trip are still being worked out, according to people familiar with his plans, who requested anonymity to share details on his schedule. The Biden administration has been vocal in combating a surge in antisemitism at home and abroad.
Africa Ties
Biden will follow the Germany stop with a visit to Luanda, Angola, where he will discuss bolstering economic partnerships, strengthening democracy and civic engagement, and intensifying work on climate security and transitioning to green energy with his Angolan counterpart João Lourenço, according to the White House.
The US president hosted Lourenço last November at the White House, where he told him that “America is all in on Africa.”
Earlier: Biden’s Unfilled Vow to Visit Africa Renews Fears of Neglect
Biden has sought to deepen the US commitment to Africa to help counter growing Chinese and Russian influence, and had pledged to visit the continent while in office. The trip affords him an opportunity to allay African leaders’ concerns that the continent is taking a back seat to other geopolitical priorities.
In 2022, he hosted the African Leaders Summit in Washington and in May of this year hosted a state dinner for Kenyan President William Ruto.
Harris, who is seeking to become the first Black woman president in US history, visited Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia in March 2023 and First Lady Jill Biden has traveled to Namibia and Kenya.
Key Ally
Scholz has visited the White House multiple times over the past four years, and the two men have seen each other on the sidelines of annual gatherings like the Group of Seven, NATO and UN General Assembly meetings.
The German chancellor played a major role in a highly complex negotiation that resulted in the largest prisoner exchange with Russia since the Cold War, helping secure the release of 16 prisoners, including Germans, Americans and people of other nationalities.
Key to the deal was Scholz agreeing to release Vadim Krasikov, who was serving a life sentence in Germany for the killing of a Chechen separatist.
German authorities had long resisted including him in any exchange because of the brazen nature of his crime, but Russian President Vladimir Putin made his release a top priority.
(Updates with additional details on travel plans throughout)
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