President Donald Trump congratulated a group of African leaders on Wednesday for the level of American investment in the continent, mentioning that he has "so many" friends who are "going to your countries trying to get rich."
The comment came during a luncheon on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Leaders from Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, South Africa, Nigeria and a host of other African nations attended the lunch.
"Africa has tremendous business potential," Trump said near the top of his speech. "I have so many friends going to your countries trying to get rich, I congratulate you. They are spending a lot of money. But it does, it has tremendous business potential."
"For American firms it's really become a place that they have to go - that they want to go."
Trump regularly mentions he and his friends' business ventures in speeches and that has not stopped at the United Nations.
Trump announced that he was dispatching US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley to Africa "to discuss avenues of conflict and resolution and, most importantly, prevention."
South Africa's Jacob Zuma and Nigeria's Muhammadu Buhari were among the leaders at the lunch.
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