WHY IS ANGOLA INCLUDED IN THE SEVEN-NATION ITINERARY?
Oil producer Angola is seen as an emerging financial powerhouse in Africa. The United States imports 7 percent of its oil from Angola, which rivals Nigeria as Africa’s biggest oil producer and heads the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The trip could help boost U.S. investments in Angola’s once-prosperous farming sector. U.S.-based Dole Food Co. and Chiquita Brands International, have been in talks with local authorities to invest in the banana industry. Clinton will encourage Angola to diversify — it relies on oil and diamonds for 90 percent of its exports. Washington sees agriculture as a way to lift millions out of poverty in Africa. WHAT WILL THE MESSAGE BE IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO? DRC is of huge strategic importance to the region and home to U.S. corporate interests in the mining industry, which is bogged down in a contract review. An ongoing conflict in the east will be a focus and Clinton is set to visit Goma where she plans to highlight the plight of wome
