    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [June 17, 1997]
    [Pages 756-759]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Announcing the Africa Trade Initiative
    June 17, 1997

        Thank you very much, Mr. Micek, for your testimony and your work.
    Congressman Crane, Congressman Rangel, Congressman McDermott, thank you
    all for what you have said today, and even more important, for what you
    have done.
        Mr. Ambassador, to you, thank you for your words. And to all of your
    colleagues, welcome and thank you for coming and for being a part of
    this important initiative, for testifying before the Congress and giving
    your ideas to help us put this together.
        Thank you, Senator Lugar, for your leadership in the Senate on this
    issue. I thank all the Members of Congress who are here. There are so
    many, I think just to show you the depth of the interest, I would like
    to ask the Members of the House who are here to stand and be recognized
    so you can see them all. Thank you.
        I thank Secretaries Glickman, Daley, Slater, and Herman for being
    here; Ambassador Richardson; Ambassador Barshefsky; our AID
    Administrator, Brian Atwood; the Director of the USIA, Joe Duffey; the
    new leader of the Ex-Im Bank, Jim Harmon, thank you for being here.
        There are so many people from the business community here and
    distinguished American citizens--I do think I would be remiss if I did
    not especially thank Jack Kemp. Thank you for coming. And thank you, Jim
    Wolfensohn, for coming. And now he will go back to the World

    [[Page 757]]

    Bank and write the appropriate checks, I know. [Laughter]
        Thank you, Mayor Dinkins, for being here. Thank you, Reverend
    Sullivan. I thank Maxine Waters, who is chair of the Congressional Black
    Caucus, for the emphasis she has put on Africa. And many of the members
    here, most recently Congresswoman McKinney, have talked to me about
    Africa on a regular basis.
        But I would be remiss if I did not thank four people especially who
    are personally responsible for making sure that I know about Africa.
    First, Congressman Donald Payne, thank you, sir, for all the times you
    have talked to me about it. Thank you, Congressman Bill Jefferson. Thank
    you, Andy Young, Reverend Andrew Young, thank you. Andy Young was
    talking to me about Africa before he ever thought I would be in a
    position to do anything about it. [Laughter] And I would like to say a
    special word of thanks to C. Payne Lucas and the Corporate Council on
    Africa for the wonderful work they have done. Thank you, sir.
        This is a moment of tremendous promise for the people of Africa. For
    the last 4 years we have tried to put our country in a position to be
    more active on Africa than we have been in the past. We had the first
    White House Conference on Africa. We have done a number of things. I
    think it's fair to say that the trip that Hillary and our daughter took
    to Africa was one of the most meaningful experiences they have ever had.
    I think it changed Hillary forever. I know it changed what I now believe
    I know and feel about what we should be doing forever. And so, I'd like
    to thank her for that because I think she's done a fine job on that.
        We look at Africa today as a continent full of bright hopes and
    persistent problems. Everyone knows about the conflicts; they make a lot
    of news, from Sudan to Sierra Leone. We know that we have a
    responsibility to continue to work for peace in Africa's troubled areas.
    But somehow, we have to find a way to highlight and celebrate Africa's
    successes, and yes, even to participate in them in ways that work to the
    advantage of the American people. We have to dedicate ourselves to
    seeing that these gains will not only be maintained but will be
    enhanced.
        These stories don't make the headlines, but there really is a
    dynamic new Africa out there, and the far greater number of nations
    there are now making dramatic strides toward democracy and prosperity.
    Since 1990 the number of democracies in sub-Saharan Africa has more than
    quadrupled. Now more than half the region's 48 states have freely chosen
    their leaders. Many are embracing economic reform, opening markets,
    privatizing, stabilizing their currencies. Growth has more than tripled
    since 1990. The economies in such countries as Senegal, Ghana,
    Mozambique, Cote d'Ivoire are expanding at rates up to 7 percent a year.
    Ethiopia was not long ago gripped by famine; it grew 12 percent last
    year. Uganda, once a byword for tragedy, has become a magnet for
    investment; it grew almost 10 percent last year.
        As Africa's nations join the global march toward freedom and open
    markets, our Nation has a deep interest in helping to ensure that these
    efforts pay off. An Africa that is gaining vitality while technology,
    trade, communications, and travel are bringing millions into the global
    economy is a continent of greater stability, growing markets, stronger
    partners. A nation that can help us work for peace, to preserve the
    environment, to fight disease, to grow our own economy, that's a nation,
    wherever it is located on the globe, that America should be a good
    partner to, should be involved with, should be committed to building the
    future with.
        Today I am proud to announce our collective effort with the Congress
    to help fulfill the promise of a stable, prosperous, and democratic
    Africa. And like Congressman Rangel and Congressman Moran before me, I
    want to say to you, Congressman Crane, and to you, Senator Lugar, we are
    well aware of the numbers in the United States Congress, and we would
    not be here today if there weren't a number of Republicans in leadership
    positions who care deeply about the future of Africa. And we thank you
    for that.
        This new initiative upon which we have agreed has five key elements.
        First, at the heart of our effort will be significantly increased
    access to our markets for African exports. African countries will be
    able to export almost 50 percent more products to the United States duty
    free. The most committed African reformers will receive even greater
    access. And in the future, the United States will be prepared to
    negotiate free trade agreements with these countries.
        Second, we will increase technical assistance to enable African
    countries to take the fullest advantage of these new programs.
        Third, we will work to increase private investment in Africa.
    Through OPIC, we are creating

    [[Page 758]]

    a new $150 million equity fund to finance increased private investment,
    and a $500 million fund for infrastructure investment in the sub-Saharan
    region.
        Fourth, we will work to eliminate bilateral debt for the poorest of
    the reforming nations, and maintain our leadership in the effort to
    reduce their debts to the multilateral institutions. I heard you, Mr.
    Ambassador, and I know that you're right.
        Fifth, to maintain our momentum, the United States will hold annual
    economic meetings at the ministerial level with all reforming African
    nations.
        Now, as we deepen our commerce, I believe there will be a continued
    need for bilateral and multilateral development assistance. We know
    that. I am committed to maintaining funds for the USAID programs, the
    international financial institutions, and IDA. But aid cannot substitute
    for economic reform. We know that we must have both.
        Our initiative opens the door to real, positive change. Only nations
    carrying out serious reforms will reap the full benefits. Those who
    strengthen their democracies and invest in their people will see their
    efforts pay off in increased trade that will create new jobs, increase
    wages, spur growth, and improve the quality of lives of people who have
    suffered some of the world's worst poverty.
        As these economies grow, America's prosperity and our security will
    benefit. The potential of a sub-Saharan market with some 700 million
    people is truly immense. The United States supplies just 7 percent of
    Africa's imports today, but already that supports 100,000 American jobs.
    Just imagine what this initiative can mean to the United States, as well
    as to Africa. Mr. Micek's company has shown what we can do for Africa
    and for our own people.
        I also want to emphasize to all of you that this is about more than
    economics. A stronger, stable, prosperous Africa will be a better
    partner for security and peace, will join us in the fight against the
    new common threats of drug trafficking, international crime, terrorism,
    the spread of disease, environmental degradation. We need partners in
    Africa on every single one of these issues, and in the years ahead we
    will have to have more of them.
        Everyone who has looked at the future, who has predicted the
    challenges we will face, knows that the globalization of our societies
    will mean that all these problems will be transnational. They will cross
    all borders. They will sweep across continents. They will move in the
    flash of an eye, and we must be ready to work together.
        By transforming our trade, I'd like to say one other personal thing.
    We're building on the legacy of another person who is not here, the late
    Ron Brown, who believed so much in the promise of Africa.
        It builds on our work to resolve conflicts in Liberia, Burundi,
    Angola; to save hundreds of thousands of lives at risk from famine in
    Somalia and the Horn of Africa; to save so many in Rwanda and Burundi
    from the adversities they have faced. We are proud of our support for
    democratic transition and reconciliation in South Africa and for
    elections throughout the continent. We are proud when President Mandela
    takes the lead in trying to restore peace and harmony to troubled lands.
    And I love to see the United States not in a leadership position but in
    a position of saying, we support President Mandela. And I want more of
    that to occur.
        I do look forward to visiting Africa later this term to pay tribute
    to the nations that have made such historic progress. And as has already
    been indicated by previous speakers, I do intend in Denver in just a few
    days to ask our partners from the other leading industrial democracies
    to join us in this effort. We have to work so that all of our nations
    coordinate policies toward Africa so that we can all encourage reform in
    trade and investment and relief to heavily indebted countries and so
    that we can all participate not only in the responsibilities but in the
    benefits of a growing, prosperous, freer Africa.
        I will ask our partners to join us in urging the international
    financial institutions, the World Bank, the IMF, the Africa Development
    Bank, as well as the United Nations, to create innovative new programs
    so that reforming African nations can succeed in integrating themselves
    into the global economy.
        And if we all persist at this, if we keep working at this, then
    people will look back at this moment as a pivotal one for Africa, for
    America, and for the global community. The Members of Congress of both
    parties who have shown such leadership in this effort have recognized
    that a prosperous, democratic America in the 21st century needs a
    prosperous, democratic Africa. They are committed to cementing the ties
    of culture that bind us in heritage.

    [[Page 759]]

        And I might say, this is just the latest sterling example of what
    happens when we put the interests of our people and the values of our
    country throughout the world first and foremost. When we get beyond our
    partisan differences and reach to the depths of the human spirit and
    give light to our vision, we prove that we can advance the cause of
    America, improve the lives of our people, and, in this case, give hope
    to hundreds of millions living on the African Continent.
        Thank you all very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:07 p.m. in Room 450 of the Old Executive
    Office Building. In his remarks, he referred to Ernest Micek, chief
    executive officer, Cargill, Inc.; Ambassador Roble Olhaye of Djibouti;
    Jack Kemp, 1996 Republican candidate for Vice President; James D.
    Wolfensohn, president, International Bank for Reconstruction and
    Development; David Dinkins, chairman of the board, Constituency for
    Africa; Rev. Leon H. Sullivan, chairman and founder, Opportunities
    Industrialization Centers International; Andrew Young, former U.S.
    Ambassador to the United Nations; C. Payne Lucas, president, Africare;
    and State President Nelson Mandela of South Africa.