According to Jornal de Angola, which cites a note from the US Embassy in Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe, Lloyd Austin's speech will focus on new angles of US policy for Africa under the theme: "The Power of Partnership ”.
During the trip to Luanda, Lloyd Austin will focus "on building stronger defense relationships and exploring paths for greater military-to-military cooperation between the US and Angola", highlighted the Department of Defense in a statement.
This presence of the North American representative on the African continent also aims to discuss "African-led solutions to mutual security challenges and highlight the importance of United States partnerships on the continent".
The Secretary of Defense of the United States of America (USA) met on Sunday with the President of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh, and the President of Somalia, Hassan Sheik Muhamud.
After the first day of the visit to the continent, the Secretary of Defense made a publication on his account on the social network X (formerly Twitter), following the trip to the military base. "Our troops deployed at Camp Lemonnier [in Djibouti] are working hard and helping to ensure regional security with our partners in Africa," he said.
"We discussed our shared efforts to combat [the terrorist group] Al-Shebab and recognized the courage and sacrifice of the Somali people as we work together to face the challenges ahead," Austin said in X, regarding his conversations with the Somali leader.
The President of Djibouti also spoke about Al-Shebab, with one of the main topics discussed being the African country's support for the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), which is supporting Somali troops in their fight against the group terrorist.
Austin also thanked Guelleh for "his country's leadership and the long-standing and effective security partnership" between Djibouti and the US, according to a statement from the US Department of Defense.
The US - like China, France and Japan - has a permanent military base in strategic Djibouti, between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The US Secretary of Defense is also expected to travel to Kenya this week.
