U.S. Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Johnnie Carson is travelling to Spain , Ethiopia , Ghana , Togo, Benin, and Nigeria from January 26 to February 10 .
Assistant Secretary Carson will begin his travel in Madrid, Spain where he has meetings scheduled with counterparts from the European Union . Spain holds the Presidency of the EU.
Assistant Secretary Carson will go to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for the African Union Summit . The U.S. delegation is being led by Under Secretary Maria Otero. In addition to the Summit activities, the U.S. delegation will have a number of bilateral discussions with African leadership.
Following the Summit, Assistant Secretary Carson will travel to West Africa beginning in Ghana where he will confer with President Mills, meet with representatives of the business community, and deliver remarks at a regional USAID conference in Accra . In Togo, he is scheduled to meet with President Faure, Prime Minister Houngbo, and Foreign Minister Esaw. Similarly, the Assistant Secretary has meetings in Benin planned with President Yayi and Foreign Minister Ehouzou.
During his trip to Nigeria, Assistant Secretary Carson will visit Lagos and Abuja. In Lagos he will meet with members of civil society and representatives of the state government. Bilaterals with Vice President Goodluck Jonathan and Foreign Affairs Chief Ojo Maduekwe will highlight the Abuja portion of the trip.