Daily Mail
Date: 26 May 2018
By: AFP

Burkina Faso’s foreign minister will begin a visit to China on Saturday, just days after cutting diplomatic ties with Taiwan in the first such visit in 25 years, diplomatic sources told AFP.

“Minister (Alpha) Barry flew to China after taking part in Thursday’s cabinet meeting and is expected to arrive in Beijing on Saturday, after stopping in Abidjan and Paris,” a diplomatic source told AFP on Friday.

It is the first such visit since the west African country suspended co-operation with Beijing in 1993 before switching recognition to Taiwan a year later.

But on Thursday, the Sahel state announced its decision to sever ties with Taiwan following a string of similar moves by African states since 2000. Swaziland remains the only African country to have relations with Taiwan.    [FULL  STORY]