Clinton to Visit Liberia, Ivory Coast, Togo, Cape Verde

Le 16 janvier 2012 par voanews.com - Posted Friday, January 13th, 2012 at 8:15 pm
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit four nations in West Africa early next week aimed at highlighting good governance and economic development.

The State Department announced the two-day trip Friday.
Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Clinton's first foreign tour this year will take her to Liberia for the inauguration of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf for her second term. She will then make stops in Ivory Coast, Togo and Cape Verde.
In Ivory Coast, she is scheduled to meet President Alassane Outtara. His ruling coalition won a landslide victory in December 11 parliamentary elections.
Nuland said Clinton will become the first ever U.S. secretary of state to visit Togo. She will meet President Faure Gnassingbe to demonstrate U.S. support for Togo's democratic progress and economic reforms and to congratulate the country on winning a non-permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council for this year and the next. The United States is seeking international support for more action against Iran and Syria.
Clinton will wrap up her trip in the tiny Atlantic Ocean state of Cape Verde, where she will meet with Prime Minister Jose Maria Neves to discuss cooperation on regional issues like the illegal narcotics trade.
http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2012/01/13/clinton-to-visit-liberia-ivory-coast-togo-cape-verde/

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to visit Ivory Coast

By africandiplomacy.com

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will travel to Abidjan on 16 and 17 January, where she will meet Alassane Ouattara and Guillaume Soro. This visit aims to strengthen security and economic cooperation between Côte d'Ivoire and the United States.

Her agenda is not fully known, but meetings with President Alassane Ouattara and Prime Minister Guillaume Soro are already planned.

Scheduled eight months after the inauguration of the Ivorian president, Hillary Clinton's trip to Abidjan has two aspects. The first is diplomatic and security. The United States will make Ivory Coast their regional information and listening center, especially in the fight against Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and maritime piracy.

Economic rivalry

The second aspect of the visit is highly related to business, while the United States fear being relegated to second place behind France. Washington's interests in the country are already high and expected to grow. Two U.S. carriers, Cargill and Archer Daniels Milband (ADM), are responsible for exporting around 40% cocoa which Ivory Coast is the world's largest producer. Finally, in the energy sector, General Electric won the end of December with its South Korean partner Hyundai completion of the third phase of the thermal power plant Azito for $ 308 million.

African Diplomacy Staff
http://africandiplomacy.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=958%3Aus-secretary-of-state-hillary-clinton-to-visit-ivory-coast&catid=57%3Ausa&Itemid=101&lang=en