LUANDA, Angola — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, bringing her democracy and development tour of Africa to oil-rich Angola on Sunday, encouraged the war-ravaged country to continue reforms and pledged to boost trade ties with a major energy producer.
Clinton, on the third leg of a seven-nation trip, came to the Angolan capital to reinforce U.S. presence in a country where it is competing for resources with China. Beijing has loaned Angola billions of dollars in recent years without pressing reform.
After meeting Foreign Minister Assuncao Afonso dos Anjos, Clinton urged the government to build on successful legislative elections held in 2008 — the first in 16 years — through presidential elections and dealing with the legacy of its 27-year civil war.
“We look forward to Angola building on this positive step, including the adoption of a new constitution, investigating and prosecuting past human-rights abuses and holding a timely, free and fair presidential election,” she said at a news conference.
Later Sunday, Clinton witnessed the signing of a corporate-responsibility agreement between U.S. oil giant Chevron and the Angolan government that promotes small- and medium- scale farming. The Associated Press
