- Secretary
of State Hillary Rodham Clinton prepares to leave Accra, Ghana, en
route to Benin, Friday, Aug. 10, 2012. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
- Secretary
of State Hillary Rodham Clinton prepares to leave Accra, Ghana, en
route to Benin, the last stop in Africa, Friday, Aug. 10, 2012. (AP
Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
From a background briefing by a senior State Department official.
The last stop on the trip will be Benin. Benin has been a model democracy
since 1991. Like Ghana, they have had a number of presidents, a number of free,
fair, and transparent elections where both presidents have changed and where
also parties, political parties, have also changed. They have also been a very
strong development partner. They’ve had and just completed a $350 million MCC
program. They are eagerly trying to pull together an application for another
program.
We’re also going for political reasons. President Yayi is the current
president of the African Union. It’s a rotating position. It’s not the chair
position, that is a five-year job that Dr. Zuma is taking over; but every year
there is a new president of the African Union, and the current president is
President Yayi. He is an important intermediary when it comes to working with
the African Union on the resolution of issues related to Somalia, Sudan, Mali,
and Guinea-Bissau. The relationship there is very good, and they have been very
good partners and interlocutors and very good utilizers of our development
assistance.
