US Secretary of State to pay a visit to Ethiopia

By Tesfa-alem Tekle

November 30, 2007 (ADDIS ABABA) — US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will pay a visit to Ethiopia next week.

In her tour to the continent, she will hold talks with leaders and officials from the African Great Lakes region, Sudan, Somalia, Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.

Ways of maintaining regional peace and security, is the prior agenda of her visit to Africa which includes the issue of Darfur crises and ways of deploying peace keepers acccessing humanitarian aid in the fragile Sudanese region.

Rice is expected to be in Addis Ababa on December 5, 2007 according to State Department spokesman Sean McCormack

This is her third time to pay a visit to sub-sahran Africa since she is appointed as secretary of state for the US government in 2005.

During her two-day visit, Rice will also discuss on the issues of Somalia and on implementing Sudanese comprehensive peace agreement with African Union members, the United Nations and east African ministers.

(ST)