US's Secretary Of State Visits Africa
The
United States Secretary of State, Ms. Condoleezza Rice will visit
Ethiopia next week for meetings on the conflicts in the Great Lakes
region, Sudan and Somalia.
MS. Rice will be in Addis Ababa,
the Ethiopian capital, on December 5 to attend a meeting of leaders
from the Great Lakes region, which includes Rwanda, Burundi,
Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. While there, “issues of
regional peace and security” will be discussed.
Assistance
She is expected to offer new
proposals on how to curb violence in eastern Democratic Republic of
Congo.
Congo's President Joseph Kabila met
President George W. Bush in Washington in October when he appealed
for U.S. assistance to stabilise his country. His government has
been battling to forcibly disarm soldiers in North Kivu province.
The United States has been
negotiating terms of a training contract for a Congolese army rapid
reaction force to tackle the rebels.
Itinerary
During her two-day visit, Ms. Rice
will also discuss Somalia and Sudan with African Union members, the
United Nations and east African ministers.
In addition, she will meet officials
from Ethiopia, which cooperates closely with the United States on
counter-terrorism issues. Tensions have been rising in recent months
between Ethiopia and its neighbour Eritrea over a disputed border.
The trip becomes Condoleezza Rice’s
third trip to Africa since becoming secretary of state in Year 2005.
She had previously been to Liberia, Senegal and Sudan.
REUTERS/AOA/YINKA
