United States diplomat Tibor Nagy is visiting Africa this week, with stops planned for Togo, Guinea, Mali and Nigeria.

Nagy, the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs, made stops in Europe before heading to  Lomé for meetings with government officials and a conference of U.S. diplomats. He is expected to spend the weekend in Conakry, where he will host similar meetings and a business roundtable.

His African tour is designed to promote trade between the U.S. and Africa, with an emphasis on African youth. He also expects to focus on peace and security issues while assuring African leaders of U.S. commitment to the continent at such an uncertain and pivotal moment in international affairs.

“I’m especially looking forward to getting back to what I like to call ‘the continent where I left my heart’ as quickly as possible,” Nagy said during remarks ahead of his trip. He previously served as a U.S. diplomat in eight different countries – his triplets were born in Zimbabwe – before leaving the field for academia for 15 years.

He returned to the U.S. Department of State after a visit to Nigeria in 2016 that underscored the potential of Africa’s future and its young populations, and was appointed to his position in July.

“African leaders are beginning to understand that their most important challenge is to create meaningful and lasting jobs for their youth,” Nagy said in a post Wednesday. “I plan to do all I can to help since I believe the United States is the ideal partner for Africa in building and strengthening democratic institutions and creating the type of business environments that will attract private sector investment.”

Nagy’s trip follows that of U.S. First Lady Melania Trump and Mark Green, USAID administrator, last month, as the U.S. seeks to raise its profile on the continent.

Image: U.S. Department of State