LAGOS, July 25 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State and former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton is set for a visit to Nigeria on August 10-12, the Lagos-based This Day newspaper reported on Saturday.
A letter from the U.S. State Department notifying the Nigerian government of Clinton's visit has been received at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the report said.
Robin Rene'e Sanders, U.S. ambassador to Nigeria and Nigeria's Foreign Affairs Minister Ojo Maduekwe met on Friday in Abuja to kick off the arrangement for the visit.
During the visit, Clinton is expected to hold discussion with Nigerian President Umaru Yar' Adua on a number of issues affecting both countries. A competent source said the Niger Delta crisis is expected to top the agenda of the meeting.
On July 16, the Nigerian federal government had said U.S. President Barack Obama has given his words that he would soon visit Nigeria.
The Nigerian government said Obama's forthcoming visit is to underline the importance of Nigeria as a very strategic African country.
President Obama's visit to neighboring Ghana last week caused indignation across the most populous African nation.
In recent past, newly elected U.S. presidents visiting Africa for the first time had almost made it a tradition to put Nigeria on their African tour. But Obama, who was said to have been excited by Ghana's democratic progress, proved to be an exception.
Obama visited Ghana from July 10 to 11 and delivered a keynote speech to the country's parliament, which was widely seen as his administration's foreign policies toward Africa.
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