Summers begins market reform Africa tour

The United States treasury secretary, Lawrence Summers, has begun an African tour to promote Western-style free-market reforms.

He's gone first to Nigeria, where his arrival co-incided with the fifth day of strikes over a fifty per cent rise in petrol prices.

The rise was caused by the government's decision to cut subsidies as part of its economic reform programme.

More talks are being held with the trade unions to try to resolve the dispute.

Mr Summers will hold talks in Abuja with Nigerian officials, including President Olusegun Obasanjo.

But a trip to the commercial capital, Lagos, was cancelled because of security concerns and the disruption to air services. The Nigerian government's reforms are aimed at securing loans from the International Monetary Fund worth about one-billion dollars.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service