Kerry’s Luanda Visit Highlights Angola’s Rising Prominence In Washington

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has just wrapped up a two-day visit to the Angolan capital, Luanda, the last stop on his tour of several African countries, including Ethiopia, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Kerry’s delegation included the U.S. Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, Linda Thomas Greenfield, the U.S. Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region and the DRC, Russell Feingold, the Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan, Donald Boothbem, and Catherine Russell, U.S. Ambassador-At-Large For Women’s Issues.

The United States and Angola signed a strategic agreement in 2009, and while diplomacy was on Kerry’s agenda, so was business. Kerry announced that the U.S. and Angola would begin an “energy dialogue” and discuss increasing economic cooperation in the areas of energy, technology, infrastructure and agriculture.

Appearing at a General Electric facility, Kerry was accompanied by representatives of U.S. energy companies that are already operating in Angola:  Chevron, ConocoPhilips and ExxonMobil – known locally as Esso.

With a representative from the U.S.-Angola Chamber of Commerce by his side, Kerry noted that, through U.S. Export Import Bank, Washington recently provided a nearly $600 million loan guarantee to help the country purchase a Boeing 777, and another $300 million “of additional economic investment.” Kerry called the country, “a place of enormous economic activity with great promise for future economic growth and development.”

The reason for his optimism is obvious: Angola is one of the world’s fastest growing economies and sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest oil producer, second only to Nigeria. From 2002 to 2008, the country experienced an oil boom as production started at several deepwater fields, a development that propelled it into membership in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

In 2013, total U.S.-Angola bilateral trade was valued at $10.2 billion, while U.S. imports from Angola were valued at $8.7 billion, all but $25 million of that mineral fuel and oil.