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Angola-united States Relations




Angola-United States relations were tense during the Angolan Civil War when the U.S. government backed UNITA rebels, but have warmed since the Angolan government renounced Marxism in 1992.


HISTORY

The United States opposed Angola's membership into the United Nations from its declaration of independence in 1975 to its acceptance in December 1976. Angola did not have formal relations with the United States until 1993 1. The U.S. has generally supported the FNLA and then UNITA , opponents of the current ruling political party, the Popular Movement For The Liberation Of Angola .

U.S. assistance to Angola amounted to 188 million USD in 2003, much of it in the field of health services and disease control. USAID's food for peace program gave over 30 million USD to Angola's population in 2005 .

Angola is currently the second biggest trading partner in Sub-Saharan Africa of the U.S., primarily because of oil; Angola produces 1.4 billion barrels of oil per day, second only to Nigeria in all of Africa . This is expected to rise to 2 billion barrels per day by 2008. Much of this oil finds its way to American pumps.

A 2005 visit by Angolan President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos to Washington was a sign of warm relations between the two nations.

In May 2007 the Council On Foreign Relations said, "Few African countries are more important to U.S. interests than Angola." {Link without Title}


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