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U.S. may lift travel ban on 'important partner' Chad, Tillerson says

12 March 2018 21:30 (UTC +04:00)

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Monday Washington was considering lifting a travel ban on Chad, offering an olive branch to a key ally in the fight against Islamist militant groups in West Africa, APA reports quoting Reuters.

The top U.S. diplomat flew into the Chadian capital, N’Djamena, on the last day of a truncated tour of Africa with stop-offs in Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Nigeria - all frontline partners against Islamic State and al Qaeda off-shoots, APA reports quoting Reuters.

It was his first diplomatic visit to the continent where many are still smarting from U.S. President Donald Trump’s reported dismissal of states there as “shithole” countries in January. Trump later denied making the comment.

Tillerson said Chad had made important steps to strengthen control over its security and passports. “These steps I think are going to allow us to begin to normalise the travel relationship with Chad,” he told reporters.