LUANDA, (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary  Clinton pressed Angola yesterday to do more to fight corruption  during a two-day visit to the oil-producing country aimed at  bolstering ties between the two nations.

Angola rivals Nigeria as Africa’s biggest oil producer but  about two-thirds of the population live on less than $2 a day.  It ranks 158th on Transparency International’s 180-nation  corruption list.

“Corruption is a problem everywhere and where it exists it  undermines people’s faith in democracy, it distorts governance,”  Clinton said at a news conference alongside Angolan Foreign  Minister Assuncao dos Anjos.

Corruption has been a theme of Clinton’s trip to Africa,  echoing U.S. President Barack Obama when he visited Ghana last  month. She praised Angola for publishing its oil revenues online  and for working with U.S. officials to increase transparency.

“Of course we raised this issue with the minister but I  think it is only fair to add that Angola has begun taking steps  to increase transparency,” said Clinton, the first U.S.  secretary of state to visit since 2002.

A senior U.S. official said Clinton had been very direct in  her discussions with the foreign minister regarding Angola’s  record on corruption and also urged the African nation to play a  bigger role in the region.

“They are moving in the right direction, so its better to  encourage them,” the U.S. official said.

U.S.-Angolan ties have improved since the end of Angola’s  27-year civil war, during which Washington helped bankroll one  of the losing groups, UNITA, now the main opposition party.

UNITA urged Clinton to press the government not to delay the  first post-war presidential election. It accuses President Jose  Eduardo dos Santos of delaying the election, initially scheduled  for 2009, to extend his three-decade rule.

Dos Anjos said his government was trying hard to increase  transparency and lift millions out of poverty.

“Unfortunately you cannot eradicate poverty with a magic  wand,” the foreign minister said.

Clinton said she hoped the first presidential elections in  almost two decades would be held in a timely and fair manner.

The government has signalled it will postpone the  presidential election in order to approve a new constitution.  Dos Anjos said the polls were likely to be delayed another year.

“We were criticised because we didn’t hold (legislative)  elections, we asked for more time and we did them. We are now  asking for more time for the (presidential) elections,” said dos  Anjos.