WASHINGTON. – United States President Donald Trump was yesterday scheduled to speak via telephone to two African leaders. The South African Presidency confirmed that Trump asked for a teleconference with President Jacob Zuma. The Presidency reported on its Twitter handle @PresidencyZA that the conversation was expected to take place yesterday afternoon: “The Presidency confirms a request from the White House for a telecon between President Zuma and President Trump this (yesterday) afternoon.”

It was not clear which time zone the Presidency was referring to, since there is a five-hour difference between Pretoria and Washington. This will be the first time the two presidents speak since Trump was inaugurated in January.

President Zuma had sent a congratulatory message to Trump after he won elections in November and said he looked forward to building on the relations that exist between the countries, including promoting peace and security, especially on the African continent.

It was still unclear if the Trump administration would prioritise US-Africa relations. Meanwhile, Trump was also expected to speak with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari – who is currently on vacation in the United Kingdom.

The US President’s first African engagement was a call with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. A journalist with The Globe and Mail, Geoffery York, referred to the sessions as Trump’s “Africa Day”.

The call to President Buhari was expected to be at 9:45 am Washington time (3:45 pm Abuja time). No details of what the meetings will centre on had been released at the time of going to print.

The two presidents head Africa’s largest economies. Both were also on very good terms with the erstwhile administration of Barack Obama. It is however alleged that Trump’s first physical meeting with an African leader was reported to be with the Republic of Congo’s Denis Sassou Nguesso in January, days before he took office.

The information relayed by Congo’s government spokesperson was disputed by the Trump team later. Thierry Moungalla, disclosed via Twitter that there was a meeting scheduled between President Nguesso and Trump. He said at the time that the meeting between the two leaders was to centre around Libya’s security situation and other African issues but failed to disclose any further details. – News24/Africa News/HR.