US President, Donald Trump, hinted last January that he would send his Foreign Minister to Africa soon. Some foreign policy watchers, who believe that the Trump administration lacks a coherent Africa policy, derided the hint. Now, the equivalent of the Foreign Minister, that is the US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, is billed to be in Africa this week.
The State Department, which announced this, last Thursday, said it would be Mr. Tillerson’s first visit to the continent since President Donald Trump took office in January 2017.
According to the announcement, Mr. Tillerson will travel to “N’Djamena, Chad; Djibouti, Djibouti; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Nairobi, Kenya; and Abuja, Nigeria,” between March 6 (today) and March 13.
The American Chief diplomat will be seeking to counter the angst that arose in January when President Trump referred to African nations as “shithole countries”. He will meet with African leaders as well as the new leaders of the African Union in Addis Ababa.
The announcement of the visit said the US is eager to work with its partners in Africa to counter terrorism, advance peace and security, promote good governance, and spur mutually beneficial trade and investment.
Last November, during his meeting with African Union Ministers in Washington, Mr. Tillerson went further than his boss by stating only American general policy goals for the continent. Mr. Trump had not shown much concern about Africa, compared to the last holder of the office, Barack Obama, who traveled to Ghana, six months into his presidency.
