OTTAWA –
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is headed to Africa as her government assembles a long-delayed plan on how to engage with the continent.
Joly is heading to Ivory Coast today before visiting South Africa for two days starting Wednesday.
Her office says the trip to Ivory Coast is aimed at exploring shared counterterrorism priorities and affirming Canada’s ties with both English- and French-speaking countries.
It says the stop in South Africa will see Joly discuss the economic partnership between the two countries and mark 30 years since the end of Apartheid.
The trip comes just days after the Liberals launched consultations for what they are now calling their approach to Africa, such as where to best station diplomats and what issues to focus on.
The Liberals have been assembling what they first called an Africa …