Foreign and Commonwealth Office staff could soon be working in two new African countries after a decision by the government to open embassies in Chad and Niger.
The two former French colonies are landlocked countries dominated by deserts. Current FCO travel advice is to avoid all travel to most of both counties and all but essential travel to the remainder.
Prime minister Theresa May announced the decision to open the embassies during her visit to Africa this week. There will also be a larger presence at the embassy in neighbouring Mali.
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There has been only a UK Office in Chad, with the nearest high commission being in Cameroon. The British ambassador to Niger is based in Bamako, Mali.
Niger is dominated by desert and is rated by the United Nations among the world's least-developed nations. It suffers from frequent droughts, insurgency and widespread poverty, though is an exporter of uranium and has increased oil exploration and gold mining.
Chad is largely semi-desert country but is rich in gold and uranium and is already an oil exporter, though has inadequate infrastructure, internal conflict and poverty.