Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa covering President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. government, UN, IMF, World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington and New York.
The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Mary Catherine Phee will travel to Paris, France October 22 and 23, after her recent travels to Ghana and Burkina Faso, her first visit to Africa in her current role.
The Assistant Secretary and an interagency group will draw from her recent trip to discuss current and future cooperation with French counterparts, the U.S. State Department said in a media note.
Her trip comes even as Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Yael Lempert visited Tunisia and Libya October 19-21.
“During her trip to Tunisia, Acting Assistant Secretary Lempert met with Tunisian government officials, including Foreign Minister Othman Jerandi, welcoming Tunisia’s newly formed government and reiterated that the U.S. looks forward to the establishment of a broadly inclusive process for a rapid return to constitutional order. She also discussed Libya and other regional issues. Acting Assistant Secretary Lempert also met with young Tunisian civil society representatives and women entrepreneurs who are playing a key role in Tunisia’s economic future,” the State Department said in a statement.
It added that in Libya, accompanied by U.S. Special Envoy and Ambassador to Libya Richard Norland, Acting Assistant Secretary Lempert represented the United States at the Libya Stabilization Conference in Tripoli.
“She also participated in bilateral meetings with senior Libyan officials, including Prime Minister Dabaiba and Foreign Minister Mangoush, and a range of other foreign delegations to the conference, emphasizing the importance of Libya’s efforts to prepare for free and fair national elections in December, and U.S. support for the withdrawal of all foreign forces, fighters, and mercenaries from Libya,” the Department added.
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