Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will meet US President Barack Obama next week at the White House for talks on cooperation on fighting the Ebola epidemic, the White House said Friday. The February 27 visit "comes at a time of critical cooperation between the United States and Liberia" after Obama announced last week that the United States would begin a new phase in its fight against Ebola, spokesman Josh Earnest said. The US is withdrawing by April 30 most of the troops it sent to Liberia last year to respond to the epidemic, and the US response is instead shifting to a civilian effort with the goal of eliminating all cases of the often deadly haemorrhagic disease. Economic development and other issues are also on the agenda.
