From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Tue Jul 28 2009 - 05:34:38 EDT
Clinton to meet Somali president in Africa trip
Tue Jul 28, 2009 2:49am EDT
* Clinton will meet Somali leader in Kenya
* Visits seven countries in Africa
* Trip aimed at reinforcing Obama's message (Adds details, quotes)
By Sue Pleming
WASHINGTON, July 27 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
plans to meet the president of Somalia's transitional government during a
seven-nation trip to Africa next week, the State Department said on Monday.
Clinton will become the highest-ranking U.S. official to meet Somali
President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, signaling the Obama administration's strong
wish to bolster the fragile government in the lawless Horn of Africa
country.
The meeting will take place on the sidelines of an annual trade forum with
sub-Saharan countries being held in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, on Aug. 5,
said State Department spokesman Ian Kelly in a statement announcing the trip
to Africa.
Kelly gave no other details of the meeting with Ahmed, who is struggling to
take control from hard-line opposition fighters bent on overthrowing his
western-backed government.
Western security agencies have long feared that Somalia, with its large
coastline and porous borders, could become a haven for foreign militants
looking to attack the region and beyond.
Somalia's coastal waters -- strategic shipping lanes linking Asia and Europe
-- have also become a focus of pirates who have made off with millions of
dollars in ransom from hijacking vessels, including U.S.-flagged ships.
SEVEN NATIONS
The United States has offered military support to Somalia's government,
including more than 40 tonnes of weapons and ammunition, to help it fight
insurgents, a senior U.S. official said last month. It has also offered
training for security forces as well as logistical and financial help.
After visiting Kenya, Clinton will travel to South Africa, Angola, the
Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Liberia and Cape Verde, where she is
expected to reinforce President Barack Obama's message that aid must be
matched by good governance.
In a trip to Ghana earlier this month, Obama -- whose father was Kenyan --
urged Africans to take a greater responsibility for stamping out war,
corruption and disease plaguing the continent.
"In each nation, she will emphasize Africa as a place of opportunity, built
on an ethic of responsibility," Kelly said.
"This trip will highlight the Obama administration's commitment to making
Africa a priority in U.S. foreign policy," he said, adding it was the
earliest in any administration that both the president and secretary of
state had gone to Africa.
While in Kenya, Clinton will meet its leaders and push that government to
take greater steps toward reconciliation, said another State Department
official.
In South Africa, she will urge the new government there to play a more
active role in resolving global and regional issues while in major oil
producer Nigeria, much of the focus will be on tackling violence and
corruption, the official told Reuters. (Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
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