The top US diplomat arrives in Nairobi
on Monday for talks with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on “regional
security issues and counter-terrorism cooperation, as well as bilateral
issues,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said.
He is also scheduled to speak with
several of his East African counterparts on the conflicts in South Sudan
and Somalia, notably the fight against the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Shabaab
militants.
On Tuesday, Kerry arrives in Nigeria
where he will meet with President Muhammadu Buhari to discuss
“counter-terrorism efforts, the Nigerian economy, the fight against
corruption, and human rights issues.”
Washington is a key ally of Abuja in the fight against Boko Haram rebels, but has regularly challenged the country and its armed forces on their civilian rights record during crackdowns against the Islamist militants
.
Kerry will also travel to Sokoto in
northern Nigeria to deliver a speech on “the importance of resilient
communities and religious tolerance in countering violent extremism.”
On Wednesday Kerry heads to Saudi
Arabia, where he will visit Jeddah to meet with his counterparts from
the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council as well as British Foreign
Minister Boris Johnson and UN special envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh
Ahmed.
While in Saudi Arabia, Kerry will focus
on the conflict in Yemen as well as the war in Syria and the fight
against the Islamic State group, the State Department said.
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