African leaders to meet with Obama at White House

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says the leaders of four African nations will meet with President Barack Obama later this month at the White House.

Presidents Ernest Bai Koroma (koh-ROH'-mah) of Sierra Leone, Macky Sall of Senegal and Joyce Banda of Malawi will be at the meeting, as will Prime Minister José Maria Pereira (peh-REHR'-ah) Neves of Cape Verde, a group of islands off the coast of western Africa.

The meeting is set for March 28.

The White House says Obama and the four African leaders will discuss ways to strengthen democracy in sub-Saharan Africa and opportunities to expand trade and investment.

Obama's Africa efforts have recently been focused on North Africa, where the U.S. is concerned about increasing threats from militant extremists — some of them linked to al-Qaida.