<div><br />''</div>''<div>US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson flew to Ethiopia at the start of his first diplomatic trip to Africa today.&nbsp;</div>''<div><br />''</div>''<div>He said that his visit would bolster security alliances on a continent increasingly turning to China for aid and trade. Before his departure, in a speech at George Mason University, Virginia, he also said that he would focus on discussing ways of fighting terrorism and promoting stability, trade and investment.&nbsp;</div>''<div><br />''</div>''<div>A growing population of young people, if left without jobs and a hope for the future, will create new ways for terrorists to exploit the next generation, subverting stability and derailing democratic governments.&nbsp;</div>''<div><br />''</div>''<div>Tillerson was also scheduled to visit tiny Djibouti, host to sprawling US, French and Chinese military bases, Chad and Nigeria, both major oil-producers of West Africa.</div>