State officials tout ‘commercial diplomacy’ strategy in Africa

Top State Department officials this week touted the development of a new trade paradigm with Africa centered on “commercial diplomacy” as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to recalibrate U.S. engagement with the continent. During the U.S.-Africa Business Summit in Angola, Troy Fitrell, the senior official in State’s African Affairs Bureau, said the Trump administration is redoing U.S. engagement with Africa because “the world has changed, the United States has changed, [and] markets have changed.” As part of the Bureau...