US Secretary of State Tillerson visits Africa for the first time ever

APD NEWS

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US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson flew to Ethiopia on Wednesday, kicking off his first ever diplomatic visit to Africa.

The eight-day visit comes about two months after the country's President Donald Trump sparked anger among Africans after reportedly calling their nations as "shithole countries" in January, although he denied ever making the comment.

The US side did not release a detailed schedule but said Tillerson would focus on discussing ways of fighting terrorism and promoting stability, trade and investment on the tour.

Tillerson was expected to visit the east African powerhouses of Ethiopia, the home of the African Union, and Kenya – both key US allies in the fight against al Shabaab Islamist militants in Somalia.

He was also scheduled to visit Djibouti, as well as Chad and Nigeria of West Africa, both major oil-producers struggling to contain the Islamist Boko Haram insurgency.

US 'concerned' about Africa's debt from China

Acting Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Don Yamamoto told journalists on Monday that US diplomats were becoming concerned about the high levels of Chinese debt some nations were incurring.

“The United States was concerned that some Chinese loans were pushing countries back into heavy debt not long after they received debt relief from international financial institutions,” he said.

Beijing slammed the allegations.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang said during a press conference that China has always paid "high attention" to the African debt issue.

"We persistently follow the idea of intensive development, and uphold that large infrastructure building and industrial development in Africa should be planned and promoted by both sides,” Geng said.

(REUTERS)