Against the backdrop of the 16th BRICS Summit held in Kazan from 22-24 October this year, Angola’s recent efforts to strengthen ties with the United States stand out.

Luanda’s Focus on Strengthening Relations with the US

It was only in 1993 that Washington officially recognised the MPLA government, yet it continued supporting UNITA until the end of Angola’s devastating 27-year civil war in 2002. The conflict claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and left the country’s infrastructure in ruins.

Therefore, the signing of a military cooperation agreement in Washington on June, 7 this year between Angola’s Secretary of Defence Afonso Carlos Neto and US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence Tressa Guenov, marks a turning point. The agreement includes the production of military logistics equipment such as vehicles, bridge layers, light armoured vehicles, and aircraft within Angola.

During these talks, both parties agreed to further discuss strengthening ties in military and security domains in Angola in 2025. Washington’s aim is clear: to prevent China from establishing a naval base in Angola, a country strategically located on the southwest African Atlantic coast, by enhancing cooperation in these fields. As Michelle Gavin of the US Council on Foreign Relations noted, such a base would pose a direct threat to US national security.

This agreement followed a meeting between US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Angolan Defence Minister João Ernesto dos Santos at the Pentagon, where the latter emphasised Angola’s multi-vector approach to military cooperation to maintain its armed forces’ high combat readiness.

And this was not a complete surprise. According to the American website Africa Country, the deepening of US-Angola relations shouldn’t be surprising as it builds on a solid........

© New Eastern Outlook