Senior Official for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Liz Allen will travel to Niamey, Niger and Lomé, Togo from November 29 – December 3, 2022. As the United States prepares to welcome leaders from across the continent of Africa to Washington, D.C. for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, her trip underscores the United States’ commitment to partnering with both countries to promote good governance, the rule of law, respect for human rights, education, and a vibrant civil society in West Africa.

In both locations, Senior Official Allen will meet with journalists, entrepreneurs, young leaders, Mandela Washington Fellows and other U.S. government exchange program alumni of the Young African Leaders Initiative, Fulbright, and the International Visitor Leadership Program, underscoring public diplomacy as a foundational component of U.S. foreign policy. In Niamey, she will commemorate Niger’s national Press Freedom Day with public remarks on the importance of media freedom, marking the Day together with Nigerien government officials and journalists. Additionally, in Niamey, she will meet with officials to discuss current and future U.S. support for education programs to include English language, as well as to emphasize our ongoing partnership on countering disinformation and violent extremism in the region. In Lomé, Senior Official Allen will meet with African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP) grantees to discuss issues related to exports to the United States.

Source: US State Department