U.S. top diplomat in Ethiopia, first stop of Horn of Africa trip

Tibor Nagy, the United States’ Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs has started an official visit to the Horn of Africa region.

His first stop was in Ethiopia where he arrived on Wednesday. The Foreign Affairs Ministry said he was scheduled to meet FM Workneh Gebeyehu and other top government officials during his trip.

He has held talks with the African Union Commission chairman, Moussa Faki Mahamat. The AU chief said their exchanges bordered on matters of mutual interest including peace and security.

Earlier on Wednesday, the diplomat along with the commander of the US Africa Command met with Ethiopia’s Defense Minister to discuss opportunities for security cooperation between the two countries.

I had a productive meeting with _AfricanUnion Chairperson AUC_MoussaFaki today where we reinforced our commitment to strengthening the partnership between the U.S. & the African Union.

I’m thrilled to lead the U.S. delegation at the 6th annual U.S.-AU High-level Dialogue pic.twitter.com/xcsmZOqdoo

— Tibor Nagy (@AsstSecStateAF) November 28, 2018

The Department of State last Wednesday announced Nagy’s visit stating that he is will visit Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Kenya as part of US efforts in promoting stronger trade and commercial ties, a statement read.

The last time a top diplomat undertook a similar visit was in April 2018 when then Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Donald Yamamoto visited Eritrea, Djibouti before rounding up his visit in Ethiopia. Yamamoto has recently taken post as US Ambassador to Somalia.