U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter visited Ethiopia, as well as the African Union, this week and met with senior government and military leaders to discuss the U.S.-Ethiopia security partnership and shared interests with respect to East Africa's security challenges, the Pentagon said Thursday. "While in Ethiopia, Deputy Secretary Carter met with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and Chief of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces General Samora Yenus," Pentagon spokesman George Little said in a statement. "These meetings provided an opportunity to discuss the critical role that Ethiopia has played in stabilizing Somalia and providing peacekeepers along the border between Sudan and South Sudan." "In his meeting at the African Union, Dr. Carter thanked Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission Erastus Mwencha for the African Union's leadership in tackling Africa's security challenges," Little said. "The two leaders exchanged views on the African Peace and Security Architecture, maritime security, and the conflicts in Somalia, Mali, the Central African Republic, and the Great Lakes region. "The deputy secretary also met with alumni from the Africa Center for Strategic Studies from across the continent who offered their perspectives on Africa's progress in addressing its security and development challenges," Little said.
