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ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia February 06, 2004 (The Sub-Saharan Informer) – In what appears to be an all-out effort to counter movements of the Chinese in Africa, President Johannes Rau of Germany is visiting the continent in March of this year.
According to the German Embassy in Ethiopia Rau’s visit is tentatively set to visit Djibouti, Mozambique, Nigeria and Tanzania. The Embassy was only able to provide the planned agenda for Djibouti, which includes visiting the German troops based in the country and meeting with President Ismail Omar Guelleh.
There is speculation that the visit in Djibouti is closely tied to security issues, since the country is seen as a camp for anti-terrorism surveillance as well as a future commercial free zone, which links Africa with the Middle East and Asia.
After wrapping up his trip to Africa the German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder will visit Dublin on Monday for talks about the progress of Ireland’s presidency of the European Union. “The two leaders are expected to discuss a range of topics, including the Intergovernmental Conference on a new Constitution, the Jobs and Competitiveness Strategy (Lisbon Agenda) and a range of international issues,” according to a government press release.
It is to be recalled that the Chinese President is currently touring Africa and in January the Chinese Foreign Minister visited Djibouti and the Prime Minister visited Ethiopia for the Africa-China Forum that was attended by representatives from across Africa and China.
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