Germany's Steinmeier wraps up Africa trip in Angola

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier wraps up a two-day visit to Angola on Thursday with a visit to Huambo, the African country's third-largest city.

He will visit a de-mining project and a rehabilitation centre for mine victims.

The centre was set up during a visit by Britain's late Princess Diana in 1997. Landmines laid during the country's brutal civil war, which finally ended in 2002, still endanger civilians.

Steinmeier wants to find out more about the so-called Lobito Corridor. This is an almost 2,000 kilometre long railway link from the Angolan coastal town of Lobito to the resource-rich regions in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and further into the copper belt of Zambia.

It is intended to facilitate the export of minerals and oil and make Europe's industries less dependent on China. As well as the European Union, the United States is also investing heavily in the project.

Angola, the world's fourth-largest diamond producer, also has vast untapped reserves of critical raw materials sought by German industry.

The oil-rich nation of 38 million people derives around 90% of its exports from crude oil, which is also Germany's main import from the country.

On Wednesday, President João Lourenço called for more German investment in Angola. In recent years, however, the environment for investment in the economy has improved considerably, Lourenço stressed.

Steinmeier is to fly back to Berlin in the evening at the close of his week-long Africa trip. He previously visited Egypt and Ghana.