Clinton praises Malawi president

In Lilongwe, Malawi, Clinton met with President Joyce Banda, the first woman to lead her country and only the second female African head of state.

A longtime champion of women's empowerment, Clinton encouraged Banda to stay on a course of economic reform to make Malawi more attractive to foreign investment. Later, Clinton visited a girls' secondary school and an agriculture project supported by U.S. assistance.

Clinton is the first secretary of state to visit Malawi.

Banda, a women's rights campaigner who had been Malawi's vice president, took over the top job in April after President Bingu wa Mutharika died in office. She has been keen to differentiate herself from her predecessor, who had a rocky relationship with international development agencies and whose policies led the U.S. to suspend a $350.7 million assistance package last year.

On Monday, Clinton is to pay her respects to Mandela at his home in the town of Qunu. Mandela, 94, became South Africa's first black president in 1994 after spending 27 years in prison for his fight against racist apartheid rule. He was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.

Clinton is on an 11-day tour of Africa that has already taken her to Senegal, Uganda, South Sudan and Kenya. After South Africa, she will travel to Nigeria, Ghana and Benin.

She then heads to Turkey on Saturday where she will have talks with Turkish officials and others on the deteriorating situation in Syria.

Source: http://www.tulsaworld.com/site/articlepath.aspx?articleid=20120806_13_A6_CUTLIN634009&rss_lnk=1

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