    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [March 25, 1998]
    [Pages 438-439]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Entebbe Summit for Peace and Prosperity
    March 25, 1998

        President Museveni, President
    Moi, Prime Minister Meles, President Bizimungu,
    President Mkapa, President
    Kabila, Secretary General
    Salim, to our distinguished guests, all.
    Let me, first of all, thank the representatives of all the governments
    who are here and the leaders who have come to Entebbe to share a common
    vision of a brighter future for this region.
        We seek to deepen the progress that has been made and to meet the
    tough challenges that remain. We came to Entebbe because we share a
    commitment to strengthen our cooperation, to build a partnership for the
    21st century that will benefit all our people. We understand, and the
    last statement I made at our meeting was, that these goals will not be
    met in one meeting or one day or one year. But we have formed a solid
    foundation for progress in the future. Our challenge as we leave Entebbe
    is to bring to life the commitment in the remarkable document we have
    just signed.
        What is in the document? First, we have agreed to deepen our efforts
    to promote democracy and respect for human rights, the precious soil in
    which peace and prosperity grow. When men and women alike are treated
    with dignity, when they have a say in decisions that affect their lives,
    societies are better equipped to seize the opportunities of the future.
        We have emphasized the importance of freely elected, accountable
    governments, affirmed the vital role of civic organizations in building
    strong and vibrant societies, and pledged to uphold humanitarian
    principles, including the protection and care of refugees.
        America knows from our own experience that there is no single
    blueprint for a successful democracy. We're still working in our country
    to create what our Founders called a more perfect Union. We've been at
    it for 222 years now. But we also know that while there is no single
    blueprint, freedom nonetheless is a universal aspiration. Human rights
    are not bestowed on the basis of wealth or race, of gender or ethnicity,
    of culture or region. They are the birthright of all men and women
    everywhere.
        If we work together to strengthen democracy and respect human
    rights, we can help this continent reach its full potential in the 21st
    century, its true greatness, which has too long been denied. We can
    deepen the ties among our peoples. We can be a force for good together,
    and all our nations can be proud.
        Second, we have agreed to work together to build a new economic
    future where the talents of Africa's people are unleashed, the doors of
    opportunity are opened to all, and countries move from the margins to
    the mainstream of the global economy. We committed to work on finding
    new strategies to hasten Africa's global integration. We pledged to
    speed the regional cooperation that is already underway, to encourage
    common standards for openness and anticorruption, to continue to be
    responsive to the burden of debt.
        A key part of our effort is expanding the ties of trade and
    investment between our countries so that African development and Asian
    growth--and American growth, excuse me, reinforce one another. We want
    to reward each

    [[Page 439]]

    other for working together. Before I left for Africa, I told the
    American people that it was in our interest to help Africa grow and
    blossom and reach its full potential. I believe that.
        I want to thank the Members of the United States House of
    Representatives who are on this trip with me for their leadership in the
    passage in the House of the ``African Growth and Opportunity Act.'' I am
    committed to the swift passage of that act in the United States Senate
    and to signing it when I return home. I am very pleased that our
    Overseas Private Investment Corporation will be targeting half a billion
    dollars for infrastructure investment in sub-Saharan Africa.
        Third, we have agreed to work together to banish genocide from this
    region and this continent. Every African child has the right to grow up
    in safety and peace. We condemn the perpetrators of the continued
    atrocities in Rwanda and pledge to work together to end the horrors of
    this region. That means reviving the U.N. Arms Flow Commission; acting
    on the recommendations of the OAU study on the Rwandan genocide and its
    aftermath; encouraging accelerated progress in bringing criminals
    against humanity to justice; denying safe havens or services to
    extremist organizations; and developing durable justice systems that are
    credible, impartial, and effective. Our efforts come too late for
    yesterday's victims. They must be in time to prevent tomorrow's victims.
        Here today--and this is very important--we have pledged to find new
    ways to work together to solve conflicts before they explode into crises
    and to act to stop them more quickly when they do.
        We have pursued our discussion in a spirit of candor and mutual
    respect, and I want to thank all the participants for being honest and
    open in our conversations. America shares a stake in Africa's success,
    as I've said. If African nations become stronger, as they surely will,
    if they become more dynamic, as they clearly are, we can become even
    better partners in meeting our common challenges. Your stability, your
    security, your prosperity will add to our own. And our vitality can and
    must contribute to yours.
        I've learned a lot here in Entebbe today, listening and remembering.
    The lessons I have learned on this trip I will carry back to Washington,
    as I'm sure the rest of our delegation will. We've agreed to build on
    this summit with regular, high-level meetings. We will look for results
    of our efforts not only in statements like this one today, with very
    high visibility, but in quiet places far from the halls of government,
    in communities and households all across our countries, where ordinary
    men and women strive each day to build strong families, to find good
    jobs, to pass on better lives for their children. They are the reason we
    are here. And it is because of them that we all leave Entebbe determined
    to put our partnership into practice, to make our dreams and ideals
    real.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 7:15 p.m. at the Imperial Botanical Beach
    Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
    of Uganda; President Daniel T. arap Moi of Kenya; Prime Minister Meles
    Zenawi of Ethiopia; President Pasteur Bizimungu of Rwanda; President
    Benjamin William Mkapa of Tanzania; President Laurent Desire Kabila of
    the Democratic Republic of Congo; and Secretary General Salim Ahmed
    Salim of the Organization of African Unity.