U.S. ups aid to Africa, asks for support on global stage ahead of Tillerson's trip - Xinhua

WASHINGTON, March 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday that the United States will provide additional aid for African countries suffering conflict and drought, while asking for their aligned actions on the global stage.

In a speech at the George Mason University in Virginia, Tillerson said the United States would provide about 533 million U.S. dollars in extra aid for Africa.

The aid will go to Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and the western and central African countries bordering Lake Chad, hit by a food crisis due to conflict or prolonged drought.

Refugees from South Sudan rest at a refugee camp in Sudan's White Nile state near the border with South Sudan on May 17, 2017. (Xinhua/Mohamed Babiker)

In the speech delivered ahead of his week-long trip to Africa, the top U.S. diplomat also urged more African countries to "take an active role on the global stage," including joining Washington in its "maximum pressure" strategy against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to curb the latter's nuclear development.

While acknowledging efforts by Angola, Senegal and Ethiopia, Tillerson said many African countries are "holding back."

"Nations in Africa need to do more," he remarked.

In his roughly 40-minute speech, Tillerson expressed Washington's intention of developing closer ties with the continent and more economic and trade exchanges. The U.S. private sector, he said, was willing to help develop the "vast, undeveloped natural resources" in Africa.

Tillerson's eight-day trip to Africa starts Tuesday and will take him to Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Chad and Nigeria.

People protest against the new travel restrictions near the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on Oct. 18, 2017. U.S. President Donald Trump on Sept. 24 expanded a travel ban to include visitors from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in East Asia, Venezuela in Latin America and Chad in central Africa. (Xinhua/Ting Shen)

The Trump administration hasn't shed much light on Africa in its foreign policy priorities. The post of assistant secretary of state for African affairs had been vacant for several months before an acting assistant secretary was appointed.

The policies as well as personal remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump have so far worked to jeopardize ties between Washington and African countries.

In December, the U.S. Supreme Court approved Trump's ban on almost all travel to the U.S. by citizens from countries including Chad, Somalia and Libya from entering the United States. The controversial decision has drawn serious criticism at home and abroad.

In January, Trump reportedly used the words "shithole countries" to describe African nations as well as Haiti and El Salvador in Latin America while discussing immigration issues with U.S. lawmakers.

Protesters carry signs during a march on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Times Square, called Rally Against Racism: Stand Up for Haiti and Africa in New York Jan. 15, 2018. Americans remembered civil rights hero Martin Luther King on his holiday Monday, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump vehemently denied he is a racist amid an uproar over a reported presidential slur. (Xinhua/AFP)

The African Union issued a statement in protest, saying, "While expressing shock, dismay and outrage, the African Union strongly believes there's a huge misunderstanding of the African continent and its people by the current (U.S.) administration."

During his visit to Chad, Tillerson is expected to help it to get off the visa sanctions list.

"We also want to give Chad importance because they're part of the G5 countries," U.S. officials said on Friday when briefing reporters on Tillerson's trip. "We're very high on Africa."

The G5 Sahel is an African regional security bloc comprising Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Niger.