United State Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Molly Phee will be visiting Nigeria to underscore the U.S. commitment to supporting free and fair elections in February and March, 2023, which must be conducted peacefully.
According to the statement released by the office of the State Department Spokesman on Saturday, the travel apparently consists of South Africa, Nigeria and Ethiopia on February 5th to 19th, 2023.
While in Nigeria, at Lagos and Abuja, the Assistant Secretary Phee will also engage civil society, youth, the private sector, religious leaders, election officials, political party leaders, and government representatives.
In South Africa, she will participate in the University Partnerships Initiative Summit at the Future Africa Campus of the University of Pretoria to show U.S. support for advancing higher education across the continent of Africa.
In addition, Assistant Secretary Phee will meet with South African leaders in politics, business, and civil society.
Also, in Ethiopia, the US envoy will definitely joined by Ambassador Johnnie Carson, the Special Presidential Representative for U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit Implementation, and other U.S. officials.
Stated further that their travel will coincide with the African Union (AU) Summit and focus on follow up to U.S. commitments. They will meet with heads of state and ministers attending the summit.
This visit is an example of U.S. action to deepen and expand its partnership with African govts, businesses, and publics to meet the shared challenges and opportunities of its era.
The statement noted that United States reaffirms the value of a strong African Union and welcomes AU’s leadership on the global stage. “We are proud of our dynamic partnership with the AU, its member states, and the peoples of Africa.
“We are dedicated to working together to advance our shared global priorities to foster openness, open societies, deliver democratic and security dividends.
And promote pandemic recovery and economic opportunity, and support conservation, climate adaptation, and a just energy transition”, the statement added.