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Condoleezza Rice

Condi Rice Set to Tour North Africa

September 3, 2008 at 11:00 AM | 0 Comments

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice may be a member of an outgoing cabinet, but she's gonna get in at least one more big trip before someone else takes over the White House. She's starting a tour of Northern Africa on Friday with a stop in Libya, making her the first high-ranking diplomat to visit the country since John Foster Dulles dropped by in 1953.

Now that Muammar al-Gaddafi has taken responsibility for the bombing of Pan Am 103 and dismantled his country's chemical and nuclear weapons programs, Secretary Rice is hoping to expand relations with the North African nation--despite its repressive form of government. If all continues to go smoothly, a tourism boom could soon follow.

Morocco and Tunisia, two other countries on Rice's Southern Mediterranean itinerary, already enjoy plenty of tourists from both the US and Europe. And with Libya's green travel initiatives underway, maybe we'll be checking out Tripoli sooner than we thought.

Related Stories:
· State Department Announcement of Rice's Trip [Official Site]
· Green Tourism Hits Libya [Jaunted]
· Lionel Richie's Libyan Celebration [Jaunted]