Slideshow: Hillary Clinton Visits Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, and Cape Verde All in One Day!

Following the inauguration, yesterday, of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf  in Liberia,  Secretary Clinton flew to the Ivory Coast.  Amazingly, she visited three countries today before departing for Washington.  She spent a good deal of time with President Ouattara  of the Ivory Coast, then she flew to Togo where she was greeted by dancers outside the palace where she conferred with President Gnassingbe.  Finally, she touched down in Cape Verde where she stopped by to see Prime Minister Pereira Neves.   Whew!  This was a true whirlwind tour.
Safe home, Mme. Secretary.  See you tomorrow at the Awards for Corporate Excellence (to be livestreamed - follow the link).

Africa: On Hillary Clinton's Agenda

Secretary Clinton To Travel to Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, Togo, and Cape Verde

Press Statement

Victoria Nuland
Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

January 13, 2012

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Secretary Clinton will travel to Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, and Cape Verde on January 16 – 17, 2012 to demonstrate U.S. commitment to post-conflict return to peace, good governance, and economic development as well as to emphasize U.S. focus on democratization.

While in Liberia, Secretary Clinton will attend President Sirleaf’s inauguration and preside over the ribbon-cutting of the New U.S. Embassy Compound in Monrovia. In Cote d’Ivoire, she will meet with President Ouattara to showcase our support for national reconciliation and strengthening democratic institutions following successful legislative elections in December 2011. In the first visit of a Secretary of State to Togo, Secretary Clinton will meet President Faure to demonstrate U.S. support for Togo’s democratic progress and economic reforms and to congratulate Togo on its recent election to the United Nations Security Council, where it holds a non-permanent seat for 2012 and 2013. In Cape Verde, Secretary Clinton will meet Prime Minister Neves to discuss cooperation on regional issues like counternarcotics, good governance, sound economic policies, and Cape Verde’s second Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact.