U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit four nations in West Africa early next week aimed at highlighting good governance and economic development.
The State Department announced the two-day trip Friday.
Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Clinton's first foreign tour this year will take her to Liberia for the inauguration of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf for her second term. She will then make stops in Ivory Coast, Togo and Cape Verde.
In Ivory Coast, she is scheduled to meet President Alassane Outtara. His ruling coalition won a landslide victory in December 11 parliamentary elections.
Nuland said Clinton will become the first ever U.S. secretary of state to visit Togo. She will meet President Faure Gnassingbe to demonstrate U.S. support for Togo's democratic progress and economic reforms and to congratulate the country on winning a non-permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council for this year and the next. The United States is seeking international support for more action against Iran and Syria.
Clinton will wrap up her trip in the tiny Atlantic Ocean state of Cape Verde, where she will meet with Prime Minister Jose Maria Neves to discuss cooperation on regional issues like the illegal narcotics trade.