Angola’s growing strategic significance for the UAE

The United Arab Emirates is deepening its economic ties with Angola – and elsewhere in Africa – by promising significant investments in critical sectors spanning energy, technology and maritime logistics. In turn, Angola offers the UAE the possibility of greater food security, potential access to critical minerals, a growing consumer market and the opportunity to deepen its influence on the continent amid waning Chinese investment.  

Emirati engagement with Angola is increasing as national champions – such as Masdar, DP World, AD Ports Group, EDGE Group and G42 – invest in key sectors of the Angolan economy, including ports and defence. In exchange, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) continues to import Angolan diamonds and hopes to turn Angola into a reliable food supplier in the coming years. Emirati interests are also growing across Africa as part of the country’s broader strategy to become a hub connecting Africa, the Middle East and Asia. At a time when Chinese investment in Africa is drying up, the expanding Emirati presence calls for a more nuanced view of regional dynamics that reflects the emergence of a multinodal world order. 

Growing African potential  

Between 2012 and 2022, Emirati foreign direct investment in Africa totalled US$59.4 billion, the continent’s third-largest source after China and the United States. Emirati interest in Africa stems from the growth prospects of emerging economies such as Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania and their growing potential as both food suppliers and energy consumers. The UAE seeks a first-mover advantage to benefit from these countries’ fast-paced transformation and hopes to position itself as a connector between Africa and Asia, channelling both capital and goods while also strengthening its access to food supplies and critical minerals.  

The UAE’s economic ties with Angola have been deepening since 2021, reflecting the latter’s significant investment potential. Angola has a rapidly growing population, while its economy, the sixth-largest in Sub-Saharan Africa, is recovering after suffering a serious recession in the late 2010s. It also has significant agricultural potential, with fertile soil and a favourable climate that could help the UAE diversify its food imports. It is one of the world’s largest exporters of diamonds, over two-thirds of which are currently sold to the UAE. Beyond diamonds, Angola is thought to have significant mineral potential, with large unexplored areas believed to contain sizeable reserves of critical and rare-earth minerals, such as copper, cobalt, manganese and lithium, all of which are essential for the UAE’s tech and renewable-energy ambitions.  

In addition, regional-infrastructure projects transiting Angola could maximise the UAE’s economic opportunities. Since 2022, Emirati companies have sought to gain stakes in mines across Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), though they have not always been successful (see Table 1). Angola’s Lobito railway-corridor project, already operational between DRC and Angola, would eventually link the three countries and could become a primary export route for Zambian and Congolese minerals.

Table 1: Pledged Emirati investments and interests in the mining sector near Angola

Maritime manoeuvres 

In the past few years, bilateral ties with Angola have blossomed as Emirati companies have capitalised on their financial firepower and expertise, signing deals and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) spanning the IT and telecoms, agriculture, public-infrastructure and renewable-energy sectors, as well as a major mixed-use development project. These have been buttressed by close personal relationships at the elite level and by the Angola–UAE Bilateral Investment Treaty, which entered into force in 2021. Emirati companies are also receiving financial support from the UAE’s federal export-credit agency and the export-financing arm of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development to launch new projects in Angola. 

Emirati engagement with Angola in the maritime domain is also growing. In February 2023, Angola awarded Abu Dhabi Ship Building, a subsidiary of EDGE Group, a US$1bn contract to build three 71-metre BR71 Mk II corvettes for the Angolan Navy. The contract included an export-credit financing package to help Angola finance the acquisition, support that few countries can offer.  

In addition to defence procurement, the country has also opened the door to Emirati investment into its ports. Emirati port operators are now operating two terminals in the Port of Luanda, Angola’s main maritime gateway and an important regional hub. In 2021, DP World signed a US$190 million 20-year concession to modernise and operate a multipurpose terminal, while AD Ports Group signed another agreement in 2024 to operate a second multipurpose terminal for 20 years, promising US$251m in a three-year modernisation plan that could eventually rise to US$379m. Furthermore, AD Ports Group will also manage the movement of containers within the broader Angolan logistics market through its logistics subsidiary Noatum Logistics, in partnership with Angola’s Unicargas. Simultaneously, AD Ports Group signed an agreement with Angola’s Ministry of Transport in 2023 to develop the country’s maritime services and infrastructure, with the goal of expanding maritime connectivity along Africa’s west coast. Possible future joint developments include a maritime academy, logistics platforms, passenger terminals, and ferry and cabotage services, as well as plans to develop the Caio Deepwater Terminal at Cabinda Port in Angola’s oil-rich northwest exclave of Cabinda. 

Watch this space  

The complementarity between Angola – and other African countries – and the UAE indicates that engagement is likely to continue increasing. Angola’s indebtedness to China may also cause it to welcome Emirati investment. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is also trying to strengthen its presence in Africa, which could further reduce Angola’s and other African states’ dependence on China. This may be welcomed by some Western capitals even as they watch Abu Dhabi’s and Riyadh’s growing interests on the continent.  

This increased engagement is not without its challenges. It is unclear whether all investment pledges will eventually materialise; for instance, in 2018 Angola’s Institute of Agrarian Development signed an MoU worth US$200m with the personal office of Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum to develop 18 agricultural-technology centres, but little else has progressed as of June 2024. Angola may be reducing its overdependence on China, but overreliance on the UAE comes with its own risks. With the future of its navy and some of its most critical infrastructure tied to Emirati entities, Angola may grow wary of increased Emirati influence. And, for all its potential, Angola remains a challenging business environment for Emirati investors, with high exposure to global oil-price shocks and an economy hugely indebted to China. This, combined with widespread poverty and numerous other socio-economic challenges in Angola, means that the returns on investment are not guaranteed.