Obama starts talks in Ethiopia

Obama was welcomed with a 21-gun salute before starting talks on Monday with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and President Mulatu Teshome in the presidential palace in the center of the capital, Addis Ababa.

It is the first-ever trip to the country by a sitting US president and comes on the heels of an equally historic visit to Kenya, the birthplace of Obama's father.

In a press conference with the Ethiopian prime minister after the talks, Obama spoke of the "deep and enduring" connections between the two countries.

He emphasized the importance of advancing Ethiopia's economy, one of the largest in Africa, and praised the country's progress in development and countering poverty and disease.

Focus on counterterrorism

Obama also stressed the importance of US-Ethiopian cooperation on counterrerrorism, with Ethiopia being at the forefront of the struggle against the Somalia-based al Shabab group across the border. The country, like Kenya, has troops in Somalia as part of an African Union and US-backed force that is trying to wipe out the extremist militants.

In remarks made before Obama spoke, Hailemariam said he had agreed on intensifying the campaign against terrorism in the region, and would increase intelligence cooperation with the United States.

The US president also said he would convene a meeting of regional leaders on Monday evening to discuss the civil war in South Sudan, where different factions in the government are enmired in a conflict marked by horrific atrocities.

The meeting is partly aimed at building support for decisive action against the leaders of the warring parties if they reject an August 17 deadline to accept a peace and power-sharing agreement.

Poor rights record

Obama said he had also touched on human rights issues at the talks, encouraging Ethiopia to take steps to promote good governance and democracy

Rights activists accuse the Ethiopian government is using national security concerns as a pretext for repression of dissidence and freedom of speech.

Ethiopia has jailed more journalist than any other country than Eritrea, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

In his remarks, Hailemariam said a that his country was committed to working toward improving human rights and governance, but that he had "minor differences" with the US on the speed of democratization.

But he insisted that Ethiopia's commitment to democracy was "real, and not skin-deep."

Gay rights omitted?

On Tuesday, Obama will also become the first US president to address the African Union, which has its headquarters in the Ethiopian capital.

He made no mention at the press conference of having touched on gay rights, which he championed in Kenya, during the talks in Ethiopia.

Both Ethiopia and Kenya are among the many African countries that have made same-sex sexual activity illegal and punishable by sometimes draconian prison sentences.

tj/jil (AFP, AP, Reuters)