credit: US Department of State / Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan

By Gary Raynaldo   DIPLOMATIC TIMES

Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan is wrapping up his travels to South Africa and Angola that began last Tuesday that is focusing  on promoting U.S. trade and investment, as well as advancing peace and security, including the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. Sullivan arrived in Angola Sunday to meet with President João Lourenço, Foreign Minister Manuel Augusto, and other members of the Angolan government and civil society.  On March 14, while in Johannesburg,  Sullivan met with former South African President Kgalema Motlanthe to discuss the U.S.-South African bilateral relationship.  During his visit to Johannesburg and Pretoria March 13-16, Sullivan met with South African business leaders and experts to discuss priority economic issues in South Africa, including enhancing the business climate to create conditions for greater U.S. commercial engagement.  The two also discussed President Motlanthe’s role as chairman of the Commission of Inquiry into Zimbabwe’s August 2018 post-election violence, and the need for meaningful political and economic reforms in Zimbabwe.  It is unclear whether Sullivan expressed the United States’ “disappointment” with South Africa’s  vote in the UN Security Council Feb.  28, 2019 against a Trump administration-backed resolution which called for fresh elections in Venezuela to resolve the worsening humanitarian crisis in the country. The U.S. resolution that called on the UN Security Council to call for free and fair presidential elections in Venezuela and to back opposition leader Juan Guaidó went down in defeat by a veto by Russian and China. The US draft resolution was able to garner the minimum nine votes, which then forced Russia and China to cast vetoes. South Africa also voted against the US draft; Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea and Indonesia abstained.  After the vote, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs Tibor Nagy stated that South Africa’s vote was “disappointing and puzzling”. 

Credit: ao.usembassy.gov /  Deputy Secretary of State Sullivan is greeted by the State Secretary for External Relations of Angola, Téte António on his arrival at Luanda’s 4 de Fevereiro International Airport Mar. 17, 2019. 

Deputy Secretary of State Sullivan Meets  With Angola President João Lourenço

Deputy Secretary Sullivan met with President Lourenço in #Angola, where he lauded the President’s commitment to political and economic reform. The Deputy underscored the value of our strategic partnership, particularly on commercial and trade efforts. pic.twitter.com/eWh4HiDnIu

— Department of State (@StateDept) March 18, 2019

Deputy Secretary Sullivan commended President Lourenço and his government “for their efforts to fight corruption and to foster citizen-responsive governance and dialogue,” according to  a State Department spokesperson. 

Sullivan’s trip concluded in Luanda, Angola Mar. 18, 2019.