THERESA MAY TO MAKE FIRST TRIP TO SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA BY UK LEADER IN FIVE YEARS

Theresa May will take a 29-member trade delegation with her on her three-day trip.

Theresa May will become the first British leader in five years to visit sub-Saharan Africa this week, making a three-day trip that includes meetings with the presidents of South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.

The prime minister will bring a trade delegation with her on a chartered RAF Voyager in an attempt to boost Britain’s post-Brexit export prospects, although she comes at a time when the government has been accused of a paying insufficient attention to the region.

The last time a British prime minister visited sub-Saharan Africa was in December 2013 when David Cameron attended Nelson Mandela’s funeral. He had intended to return in the summer of 2016 in the final days of his premiership but the planned visit was abandoned when May took over as Conservative leader earlier than anticipated.

May has never visited sub-Saharan Africa. Her only previous trip to the continent was a visit to Tunisia in 2015 in the aftermath of the Sousse hotel terror attack.

Speaking ahead of her flight to South Africa on Monday evening, the prime minister said: “Africa stands right on the cusp of playing a transformative role in the global economy” and that “a more prosperous, growing and trading Africa is in all of our interests”.

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