Angola Eyes India in Countering China’s Influence

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Angolan President João Lourenço’s first state visit to India, from May 1 to 4, 2025, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations, marked a historic milestone in bilateral ties. It was the first visit by an Angolan head of state to India in nearly four decades, underscoring the growing strategic significance India holds for Angola, especially at a time when the country is actively diversifying its external partnerships and reassessing its overreliance on China.

India and Angola have historically shared cordial relations founded upon a common legacy of anti-colonial solidarity. India consistently supported Angola’s struggle against Portuguese colonial rule until the country attained independence in 1975. Over time, bilateral economic engagement has witnessed steady growth, with trade between the two countries reaching USD 4.2 billion in the financial year 2023–24. However, oil and gas constitute almost 90 percent of this trade, underscoring the need for diversification. 

Over the years, Angola has actively engaged in key India-Africa diplomatic initiatives, including the 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit held in 2015. President João Lourenço met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the 10th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg in 2018. However, the 2025 state visit by President Lourenço to India signifies more than a ceremonial gesture; it represents a considered and strategic realignment of Angola’s foreign policy priorities.

Angola’s current chairmanship of the African Union further enhances the geopolitical significance of President Lourenço’s visit to India. During the visit, both countries signed a series of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) encompassing areas such as traditional medicine, agriculture, and cultural cooperation. The advancement of defence collaboration was particularly important, marked by India’s extension of a US$ 200 million Line of Credit (LoC) for defence procurement by Angola. 

Additionally, Angola formally acceded as the 123rd member of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), an India-led initiative designed to promote the adoption of solar energy among nations situated within the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. These developments underscore India’s emergence as a credible and increasingly significant partner in Angola’s broader diplomatic and developmental outreach.

At the heart of Luanda’s growing partnership with New Delhi lies Angola’s strategic intent to hedge against its excessive dependence on China.

At the heart of Luanda’s growing partnership with New Delhi lies Angola’s strategic intent to hedge against its excessive dependence on China. Since the end of Angola’s devastating civil war in 2002, China has played a dominant role in rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure through a resource for infrastructure (RFI) model. Endowed with substantial natural resources, particularly oil, Angola emerged as one of China’s principal oil suppliers. In exchange, China extended 258 loans to Angola, amounting to approximately US$ 45 billion—a quarter of the total Chinese loans extended to Africa. This model, now widely referred to as the “Angolan model,” was replicated across Africa. While Beijing promoted it as a mutually beneficial strategy, the approach has attracted significant international scrutiny and criticism, particularly for fostering neocolonial economic practices.

While the United States provides alternative infrastructure solutions and China maintains a stronghold through oil and debt diplomacy, India presents a distinct approach that prioritises development partnerships, capacity building, and mutual respect.

The promise of rapid, infrastructure-led development under the Chinese partnership failed to materialise. Chinese-funded projects were largely executed by Chinese firms that employed Chinese labour, sidelining local employment and capacity-building opportunities. Moreover, the quality of construction was often observed to be substandard. A prime example is the US$ 8 million hospital built in Luanda, which was abandoned shortly after completion due to concerns over structural integrity. Such instances have fuelled rising public dissatisfaction and accusations of neocolonialism against China’s approach to international development assistance.

Additionally, there are growing concerns over China’s military ambitions in the region. Reports suggest Beijing is exploring the possibility of establishing a naval base on Angola’s Atlantic coast, which would mark its second military facility in Africa after Djibouti. Such a move would significantly enhance China’s strategic depth and has raised alarms about Beijing’s expanding influence across Africa’s resource corridors.

Since assuming office in 2017, President Lourenço has prioritised the reform of Angola’s governance and economic structures. His administration has pursued a robust anti-corruption agenda, prosecuting several prominent figures from the previous regime, and has introduced measures to improve transparency and bolster investor confidence. A key component of this reform is the diversification of Angola’s foreign policy—shifting away from an overreliance on China toward a more balanced, multipolar approach. In this context, President Lourenço has openly criticised the investment agreements negotiated by the previous administration with China, subsequently cancelling some of these.

This strategic realignment is evident in Angola’s recent diplomatic engagements. In November 2023, Lourenço visited Washington, followed by a reciprocal visit by then President Joe Biden to Angola in December 2024—the first visit by a US president to sub-Saharan Africa in nearly a decade. The two countries are now collaborating on the development of the Lobito Corridor, which will connect Angola’s port of Lobito with mineral-rich countries like Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This initiative holds immense value for the global tech supply chain, as it facilitates access to cobalt and copper—critical components in electronics and green technologies.

India’s commitment to South-South cooperation and human-centric development, along with its expanding economic and technological capabilities, positions it as a viable and appealing strategic partner for Angola.

While the United States provides alternative infrastructure solutions and China maintains a stronghold through oil and debt diplomacy, India presents a distinct approach that prioritises development partnerships, capacity building, and mutual respect. Angola’s growing alignment with India is based on more than just historical goodwill. India’s commitment to South-South cooperation and human-centric development, along with its expanding economic and technological capabilities, positions it as a viable and appealing strategic partner for Angola.

By extending a US$ 200 million defence Line of Credit, India is signalling its intent to play a more active role as a security partner in Africa—a space long shaped by Western and Chinese influence.

India, in turn, recognises Angola’s importance not only as a resource-rich nation but also as a pivotal African actor with increasing continental influence. By extending a US$ 200 million defence Line of Credit, India is signalling its intent to play a more active role as a security partner in Africa—a space long shaped by Western and Chinese influence. This move also complements India’s wider strategic efforts to deepen its engagement in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and beyond, underlining Angola’s Atlantic coast as geopolitically relevant.

Going forward, a key challenge for Angola will be sustaining the momentum of its reform agenda and ensuring that  external partnerships yield tangible improvements in the socioeconomic well-being of its population. Despite receiving considerable foreign assistance over the years, the intended benefits have often failed toreach the broader citizenry—largely due to deficiencies in governance and a lack of transparency within public financial management systems.

Nevertheless, President Lourenço’s visit to India signifies a deliberate and strategic shift in Angola’s foreign policy orientation. By elevating India to the status of a key strategic partner—transcending the traditional frameworks of trade and historical solidarity—Angola is sending a clear diplomatic message: it seeks to move beyond the dichotomy of great power competition. Instead, it is charting a more balanced and autonomous course in its international engagements, with India emerging as a pivotal partner in that endeavour.

Samir Bhattacharya is an Associate Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation

• International Affairs
• Great Power Dynamics
• Multilateralism
• Africa
• angola china relations
• chairman of the african union
• chinese base in angola
• chinese influence in angola
• india africa diplomatic initiatives
• india angola relations
• infrastructure development in angola

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