US Secretary of State touring Africa during first quarter of 2018

By on December 7, 2017

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will likely be on his first tour on the continent during the first three months of next year, a close aide has revealed.

“Secretary Tillerson is planning a trip to Africa in the first quarter of 2018,” senior adviser R.C. Hammond told reporters Wednesday at Germany’s Ramstein Air Base.

Hammond made comments on his way to Vienna to meet Tillerson who is meeting today Thursday his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss global issues including North Korea, Reuters reports.

The visit if confirmed will be the second visit by a top official of the Trump administration of the continent after visit to DR Congo in October this year by Nikki Haley, the US envoy to the UN.

Hammond did not elaborate further on the countries to host the US official.

The continent has not been a major playground for the Trump Administration even though the US military have been active in Libya where US air forces have been pounding positions of jihadists.

The Pentagon is also active in the Sahel where it is giving training Nigeriens armed forces and assisting in reconnaissance and surveillance operations.

The US defense has also conducted air strikes against jihadists in Somalia.

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