US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has begun in Kenya her 11-day tour of the African continent.

美国国务卿希拉里克林顿自肯尼亚开始了她长达11天的非洲之旅。

The tour will be Mrs Clinton's longest overseas journey in her post to date

In Nairobi, Mrs Clinton is to address a summit of African ministers that will focus on trade and investments.

She will also meet Kenyan leaders, amid growing concerns over Kenya's reluctance¹（勉强，厌恶） to seek justice following last year's post election violence.

During her seven-nation tour, Mrs Clinton she will also hold talks with Somali leaders in Nairobi.

The tour, her longest overseas journey in her post to date, is part of an attempt by the US to show that Africa remains² a key foreign policy priority.

Development issues - including food security, health and gender³ concerns - are expected to be high on the agenda.

Mrs Clinton's trip comes less than a month after US President Barack Obama, whose father was born in Kenya, travelled to Ghana.

US officials were keen to emphasise⁴ that Mrs Clinton's trip is the earliest trip by a secretary of state to Africa of any administration.

'Golden chance'

One of Mrs Clinton's first engagements in Nairobi will be addressing a forum⁵ of some 40 African states which enjoy trade preferences with the US on the condition they uphold free elections and markets.

America's top diplomat⁶ will then hold talks with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Ahead of her arrival in Kenya, the US embassy in Nairobi issued a statement scolding Kenya for its decision not to set up a local court to seek justice for the victims of the country's post-poll clashes.

At least 1,300 people died during clashes following the disputed December 2007 election.

"The US is deeply concerned by the coalition⁷ government（联合政府）'s decision that appears to indicate it will not pursue establishment of an independent Special Tribunal to hold accountable perpetrators（犯人，作恶之人） of post-election violence," the US government said in the statement.

Meanwhile, Somali President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed said the meeting with Mrs Clinton in Kenya would be "a golden chance for the Somali people and government".

"It signals how the American government, the Obama administration and the international community are willing to support Somalia this time," he said, referring to earlier failed peacekeeping missions to the country.

Mrs Clinton will also visit South Africa, Nigeria, Angola, Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cape⁸ Verde.