Luanda, June 23, 2025 (Lusa) - Angola's president said in Luanda on Monday that direct American investment in Africa should extend beyond the extraction of conventional and rare mineral resources and should also focus on other types of manufacturing industries.
João Lourenço, who is also president of the African Union, was speaking today at the official opening of the 17th United States-Africa Business Summit, which runs until Wednesday and is attended by the presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, and Gabon, Ali Bongo Ondimba.
According to the Angolan president, over the last few decades, the American presence in Africa has evolved from one marked mainly by assistance to one increasingly oriented toward private investment, innovation, and the construction of robust partnerships.
João Lourenço believes that investment is also needed in the iron and steel, aluminium, cement, agriculture, shipbuilding, automotive and tourism industries.
African governments are prepared to facilitate business for American entrepreneurs, and Africa’s private sector is ready to build alliances that generate profits and shared prosperity, the Angolan president said.
The head of state also considered that economic ties between Africa and the United States have the potential to grow significantly, noting that opportunities for direct private investment exist in key areas that align with both the continent’s priorities and the comparative advantages of US companies.
João Lourenço highlighted the areas of renewable energy, agro-industry and food security, “given the availability of millions of hectares of arable land, abundant water resources, a good climate, a large supply of young labour and a growing need for technological modernisation and digital technologies, where African innovation intersects with American investment capacity to create scalable solutions”.
‘We also highlight strategic minerals, including those critical to the global energy transition, whose responsible exploitation can transform our economies and societies,’ said João Lourenço.
According to the president of Angola, in this regard, Africa expects more than capital, counting on partnerships that respect the sovereignty of its countries, value local content, promote knowledge transfer and contribute to the creation of skilled jobs.
João Lourenço stated that this forum should be viewed as a crucial component of economic relations between Africa and the United States of America.
‘Africa is now a continent with great potential for mineral wealth, water and forest resources, and unparalleled demographic growth; it is increasingly a continent of transformative decisions and concrete projects,’ he said.
He added that the African continent intends to and is working towards electrifying and industrialising its countries, adding value to raw materials, increasing job supply, and guiding young Africans, its greatest asset, toward safe and dignified journeys to Europe and other places where they seek employment and better living conditions.
“From north to south and from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, structural investments are multiplying and shaping a new African economic landscape, from the Lobito Corridor, which will link the port of Lobito on the Atlantic Ocean to the port of Dar-Es-Salam on the Indian Ocean by rail and promises to transform intra-African and intercontinental trade,” to the expanding special economic zones on the continent, through ongoing initiatives to develop regional value chains in sectors such as critical minerals, agriculture and energy, to name but a few,” he stressed.
According to João Lourenço, the digital transformation of the African continent “is underway and at great speed”.
“In a world marked by persistent geopolitical instability from Eastern Europe to the Middle East, the African continent, while hosting a few localised pockets of armed conflict or political tension, is asserting itself as a partner for stability and long-term vision,” he said.
“External circumstances further reinforce the urgency of deepening our ties of trust, economic cooperation and strategic security, where the role of the United States of America is central, as it has a unique role on a global scale,” added the Angolan head of state.
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