US deputy secretary of State Zoellick to visit Rwanda, Sudan

WASHINGTON, May 27 (AFP) — The US State Department said its deputy secretary, Robert Zoellick, will travel to Rwanda and to Sudan for a southern Africa common market meeting next week.

US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick.(AFP).

“While in Rwanda, the deputy secretary will attend the annual meeting of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa summit in Kigali,” the department said in a statement.

“He will then make his second trip to Sudan in order to visit Darfur and also to meet with Sudanese government officials and the special representative of the United Nations, Jan Pronk, in Khartoum,” the statement said.

“Zoellick will highlight United States’ support for COMESA’s role in fostering regional political, economic and security conditions,” said the statement.

“The deputy secretary is also expected to meet with Rwandan government officials and visit the Genocide Memorial in Kigali,” the statement said.

COMESA member states are Angola, Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.”