The new United States Ambassador to Niger Republic, Kathleen Fitzgibbon has arrived in the country’s capital, Niamey.
Naija News reports that the U.S. State Department spokesman, Matthew Miller, made the disclosure in a statement issued on Saturday.
Miller said Fitzgibbon will not formally present her credentials to the Niger authorities due to the current political crisis in the West African nation.
He said Fitzgibbons’ arrival in Niger does not reflect a change in the U.S. policy position but responds to the need for senior leadership of its mission at a challenging time.
Miller noted that Fitzgibbons’ “diplomatic focus will be to advocate for a diplomatic solution that preserves the constitutional order in Niger and for the immediate release of President Mohamed Bazoum and his family, and all those unlawfully detained.”
Fitzgibbons is a career diplomat who was confirmed in the post by the U.S. Senate in July, nearly a year after she was nominated.
The United States has been pressing for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis that erupted on July 26 when Niger military officers seized power, deposed President Bazoum and placed him under house arrest.
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