Melania Trump is planning to visit several countries in Africa this fall in her first major solo international trip, a spokeswoman for the first lady confirmed to The Hill on Monday.
It’s not clear which countries Trump will visit in the scheduled October trip first reported by the Associated Press, but she will do so without President Trump.
A spokeswoman for Melania Trump said further details, including dates, will be released in the coming weeks.
{mosads}“This will be my first time traveling to Africa and I am excited to educate myself on the issues facing children throughout the continent, while also learning about its rich culture and history,” Trump said in a statement to the AP. “We are a global society and I believe it is through open dialogue and the exchanging of ideas that we have a real opportunity to learn from one another.”
President Trump was met with significant criticism earlier this year when he referred to African nations as “shithole countries.”
“Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” Trump reportedly said during the January meeting with lawmakers in Oval Office.
Melania Trump has focused on children’s issues in her time as first lady, and her office told the AP she chose Africa after learning of several of the development programs underway there.
The first lady’s only other solo trip abroad since Trump took office was a daylong visit to Toronto.