Clinton set to visit Tanzania

Send to a friend

Wednesday, 01 June 2011 23:18

digg By The Citizen Reporter Dar es Salaam. The US Secretary of State, Mrs Hillary Clinton, is set to meet President Jakaya Kikwete as part of her visit to a number of African countries to discuss trade, development and other issues. A statement issued yesterday by the US State Department deputy spokesperson, Mr Mark Toner, said that during the tour, Mrs Clinton would visit United Arab Emirates (UAE), Zambia, Tanzania and Ethiopia. “In Tanzania, she will highlight our successful bilateral engagement including a host of programmes including Feed the Future (FTF),” said Mr Toner. While in Ethiopia, Mrs Clinton will focus on regional issues with a visit to the African Union (AU) headquarters and a meeting with AU Commission chief Jean Ping, in addition to bilateral engagements. She will also meet with civil society organisations to draw attention to their innovative and enterprising work, according to the statement. The tour begins in the UAE for a meeting of the Libya Contact Group slated for June 9. It is intended to build on the last meeting held in Rome, and enable the US to discuss with its partners a range of issues on the situation in Libya, including the ongoing implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973. After the meeting on Libya, Ms Clinton will travel to Lusaka on June 10 for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Ministerial Forum, where she is expected to showcase the centrepiece of US trade policy with Africa and engage with government, private sector, and civil society representatives from 37 different countries. “While in Zambia, she will also meet with President Rupiah Banda and participate in events to highlight US government initiatives to improve the lives of the Zambian people,” Mr Toner said. A pact sealed in 2000, AGOA gives exports from the world's poorest countries of the continent duty-free status on the US market.In August 2009, Mrs Clinton made a whirlwind seven-nation trip to Africa, covering Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia and Cape Verde.