[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book I)]
[June 26, 2003]
[Pages 696-701]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Remarks at the Corporate Council on Africa's United States-Africa
Business Summit
June 26, 2003
Please be seated. Thanks for the warm welcome. It is my honor to be
here with the entrepreneurs and scholars who are committed to building a
hopeful future for Africa. I'm honored to be with so many distinguished
African leaders who know that market reforms and open trade can lift
every nation on every continent.
All of us here today share some basic beliefs. We believe that
growth and prosperity in Africa will contribute to the growth and
prosperity of the world. We believe that human suffering in Africa
creates moral responsibilities for people everywhere. We believe that
this can be a decade of unprecedented advancement for
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freedom and hope and healing and peace across the African Continent.
That's what we believe.
In 11 days, I leave for Africa, and I will carry this message: The
United States believes in the great potential of Africa. We also
understand the problems of Africa, and this Nation is fully engaged in a
broad, concerted effort to help Africans find peace, to fight disease,
to build prosperity, and to improve their own lives.
I want to thank Stephen for his
invitation. And I want to thank those involved with the Corporate
Council on Africa. I appreciate so very much Frank Fountain, the chairman; Anita Henri, the
vice president. I want to thank all the board members who are here. I
want to thank you and your--if you're not a CEO, thank your CEOs of the
companies you represent for not only serving our Nation by helping to
create jobs but serving our Nation by helping creating more
compassionate and hopeful countries in the continent of Africa.
I want to thank very much Ambassador Robert Perry, who is a special adviser to the President on these
matters. I want to thank the senior African government officials here,
but I particularly want to welcome the African heads of state and the
heads of government who are with us today. It was my honor to have the
traditional photo op. But besides smiling for the cameras, I was smiling
to see people who I had known before, and I was so appreciative that you
all took time to fly here to our country. And our country extends a warm
welcome, and we hope you have a great stay.
I'm honored that President Chissano
Alberto of Mozambique is here. After all, he is the incoming
President of the African Union. And I'm pleased to see President
Mogae Gontebanye of Botswana. The reason so is
that he has graciously extended me and my delegation an invitation to
visit his country, an invitation I have accepted. Botswana is a stable
democracy, was one of the strongest economies of all of Africa. And I
look forward to my trip.
I'll go to Senegal and see west Africa's longest standing democracy,
a country with a vibrant civil society and a growing independent media.
I look forward to going to South Africa, where I'll meet with elected
leaders who are firmly committed to economic reforms in a nation that
has become a major force for regional peace and stability. I'm looking
forward to my trip to Uganda, where the Government's visionary policies
have brought about the most dramatic decline in the rate of HIV
infection of any country in the world. And finally, I'll be going to
Nigeria, a multiethnic society that is consolidating civilian rule, is
developing its vast resources, and is helping its African neighbors keep
the peace.
My trip should signal that I am optimistic about the future of the
continent of Africa. After all, there's a generation of leaders who now
understand the power of economic liberty and the necessity for global
commerce. And I also understand that freedom and prosperity are not
achieved overnight. Yet the 48 nations of sub-Saharan Africa have an
historic opportunity to grow in trade and to grow in freedom and
stability and, most importantly, to grow in hope. On the path to freedom
and with the friendship of the United States and other nations, Africa
will rise, and Africa will prosper.
This is a long-term commitment, and I know there are serious
obstacles to overcome. Introducing democracy is hard in any society.
It's much harder in a society torn by war or held back by corruption.
The promise of free markets means little when millions are illiterate
and hungry or dying from a preventable disease. It is Africans who will
overcome these problems. Yet the United States of America and other
nations will stand beside them. We will work as partners in advancing
the security and the health and the prosperity of the African peoples.
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The first great goal in our partnership with Africa is to help
establish peace and security across the continent. Many thousands of
African men and women and children are killed every year in regional
wars. These wars are often encouraged by regimes that give weapons and
refuge to rebel groups fighting in neighboring countries. The cycle of
attack and escalation is reckless. It is destructive, and it must be
ended.
In Congo, nine countries took part in a 5-year war that brought
death to millions. Now the parties to the conflict are moving to form a
government of national unity, holding out the real possibility of peace.
President Mbeki of South Africa deserves credit
for his efforts to broker a peace agreement. All the Congo's neighbors
have officially withdrawn their forces. Now I urge these Governments to
actively support the creation of an integrated national army and the
establishment, by June 30th, of a transitional government. The United
States is working with the Congo and its neighbors to ensure the
security and integrity of their borders. To encourage progress across
all of Africa, we must build peace at the heart of Africa.
In Liberia, the United States strongly supports the cease-fire
signed earlier this month. President Taylor
needs to step down so that his country can be spared further bloodshed.
All the parties in Liberia must pursue a comprehensive peace agreement.
And the United States is working with regional governments to support
those negotiations and to map out a secure transition to elections. We
are determined to help the people of Liberia find the path to peace.
The United States is also pressing forward to help end Africa's
longest running civil war in Sudan, which has claimed an estimated 2
million lives over 20 years. Progress over this past year, aided by the
leadership of Kenya, has brought us to the edge of peace. Now the north
and south must finalize a just and comprehensive peace agreement, and
the world must support it.
I've asked my Special Envoy for Peace in Sudan, former Senator John
Danforth, to return to the region in 2 weeks.
He will make clear that the only option on the table is peace. Both
sides must now make their final commitment to peace and human rights and
end the suffering of Sudan.
The United States supports efforts by African governments to build
effective peacekeeping forces. America is providing resources and
logistical support to African Union peacekeeping forces in Burundi and
ECOWAS forces in the Ivory Coast. During my visit to South Africa, U.S.
military forces will participate in a joint humanitarian and disaster
relief training exercise with South African defense forces. Skilled and
well-equipped peacekeeping forces are essential, because in the long
run, Africans will keep the peace in Africa.
The United States is also working with African nations to fight
terrorists wherever they are found. Africans from Casablanca to Nairobi
to Dar es Salaam have experienced firsthand the pain and the evil of
terror. Kenya and other nations of eastern Africa are suffering under a
particularly serious threat, and we're working closely with those
nations to end this threat.
Today I announced that the United States will devote $100 million
over the next 15 months to help countries in the region increase their
own counterterror efforts. We will work with Kenya and Ethiopia and
Djibouti and Uganda and Tanzania to improve capabilities such as air and
seaport security, coastal and border patrols, computer databases to
track terrorists, intelligence-sharing, and the means necessary to cut
off terrorist financing. Many African governments have the will to fight
the war on terror, and we are thankful for that will. We will give them
the tool and the resources to win the war on terror.
The second great goal of our partnership with Africa is to make the
advantages of
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health and literacy widely available across the continent. And that work
begins with the struggle against AIDS, which already affects nearly 30
million Africans.
As former President Kenneth Kaunda of
Zambia has said, ``We have conquered slavery, colonialism, and
apartheid. We must now fight HIV/AIDS, the most deadly enemy we have
ever faced.'' And he is right. And many others are fighting against this
enemy. Yet my message today and my message when I go to the continent
is, you are not alone in the fight.
Under the law I signed last month, the United States Congress has
authorized $15 billion over the next 5 years to fight AIDS abroad. That
money will be used to support the Global AIDS Fund as well as specially
focusing on 14 African and Caribbean countries where the crisis is most
severe. Overall, this expansion of Americans' efforts will prevent 7
million new HIV infections, treat at least 2 million people with life-
extending drugs, and provide humane care for 10 million HIV-infected
individuals and AIDS orphans. This is one of the largest public health
projects in history. America is proud to be a part of this cause, and we
are absolutely determined to see it through until we have turned the
tide against AIDS in Africa.
My administration is ready to start this vital work. Now the
Congress must appropriate the money it promised. In 2004, this effort
will require $2 billion, including $200 million for the Global Fund for
AIDS and other infectious diseases. Having passed the Emergency Fund for
AIDS Relief, Congress must now fully fund this lifesaving initiative.
The health of Africa also depends on the defeat of hunger. Forty
million Africans are now at risk of starvation. They face severe food
shortages or lack of clean drinking water. This year the United States
will provide more than $800 million to address food emergencies in
Africa. I've also asked Congress to provide 200 million new dollars for
a Famine Fund, so that when the first signs of famine appear we can move
quickly and save lives.
Yet the problem of hunger requires more than emergency measures. To
help Africa become more self-sufficient in the production of food, I
have proposed the Initiative to End Hunger in Africa. This initiative
will help African countries to use new high-yield biotech crops and
unleash the power of markets to dramatically increase agricultural
productivity.
But there's a problem. There's a problem. At present, some
governments are blocking the import of crops grown with biotechnology,
which discourages African countries from producing and exporting these
crops. The ban of these countries is unfounded; it is unscientific; it
is undermining the agricultural future of Africa. And I urge them to
stop this ban.
Nigeria's former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
Hassan Adamu speaks for many in Africa. He
speaks the truth. Here's what he says: ``To deny desperate, hungry
people the means to control their futures by presuming to know what is
best for them is not only paternalistic, it is morally wrong.''
Africa's progress also depends on the education of Africa's
children. Forty-two million boys and girls across sub-Saharan Africa are
not even enrolled in schools. If Africa is to meet its full potential,
these children must have the chance to study and learn. My
administration is committing 200 million new dollars over 5 years to
train more than 420,000 teachers in Africa, to provide scholarships for
250,000 African girls, and to partner with Historically Black Colleges
and Universities in America in bringing more than 4 million textbooks to
African children.
Every country, every business, every private organization that cares
about this continent must unite to give Africa's children the literacy
and skills they need to build Africa's future.
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The third great goal of our partnership with Africa is to help
African nations develop vibrant, free economies through aid and trade.
Wealthy nations have a responsibility to provide foreign aid. We have an
equal duty to make sure that aid is effective by rewarding countries
that embrace reform and freedom. Too often in the past, development
assistance has been squandered or used to prop up corrupt regimes. The
world needs a new approach to foreign aid, and America is leading the
way with the Millennium Challenge Account.
Under my proposal, money will go to developing nations whose
governments are committed to three broad strategies. First, they must
rule justly. Second, they must invest in the health and education of
their people. And third, they must have policies that encourage economic
freedom. To fund this account, I've proposed a 50-percent increase in
America's core development assistance over the next 3 years. And I urge
the United States Congress to give full support to the Millennium
Challenge Account.
Corrupt regimes that give nothing to their people deserve nothing
from us. Governments that serve their people deserve our help, and we
will provide that help.
Many African leaders are currently pledged to the path of political
and economic reform. That shared commitment is expressed in the
standards of NEPAD, the New Partnership for Africa's Development. Yet
those standards are mocked by some on the continent, such as the leader
of Zimbabwe, where the freedom and dignity of the nation is under
assault. I urge all nations, including the nations of Africa, to
encourage a return to democracy in Zimbabwe.
We can add to the prosperity of Africa through development
assistance that encourages your reform. Yet aid alone is not enough.
President Museveni Kaguta of Uganda has put
it well. ``By itself,'' he says, ``aid cannot transform societies. Only
trade can foster the sustained economic growth necessary for such a
transformation.'' He's right. The powerful combination of trade and open
markets is history's proven method to defeat poverty on a large scale,
to vastly improve health and education, to build a modern infrastructure
while safeguarding the environment, and to spread the habits of liberty
and enterprise that lead to self-government.
Trade is the great engine of economic progress, the great engine of
human progress. Yet sub-Sahara Africa, with 11 percent of world's
population, has less than 2 percent of the world's trade. The peoples of
Africa have been left out long enough. The United States is committed to
making the transforming power of trade available to all Africans.
Three years ago, Congress passed the African Growth and Opportunity
Act, which gave greater access to American markets for African products.
AGOA is proving the power of trade. Even with a weak global economy,
AGOA countries' duty-free exports to the United States in 2002 were $9
billion. That's a 10-percent increase from 2001. From countries all
across the continent of Africa, AGOA is helping to reform old economies,
creating new jobs; is attracting new investment; most importantly, is
offering hope to millions of Africans.
We must build on AGOA's success. Today I call on the United States
Congress to extend AGOA beyond 2008. We must extend AGOA beyond 2008 to
give businesses the confidence to make long-term investments in Africa.
At America's urging, the World Bank will provide more than $200 million
over the next 3 years to support loans to small businesses in 10 African
countries. These loans will give African entrepreneurs the capital they
need to achieve their dreams.
Here's what we believe in America, and it's true elsewhere:
Ownership and independence are the hopes of men and women in every land.
To expand commerce between America and Africa, we're working towards
a free
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trade agreement with the Southern African Customs Union. And in the
global trade negotiations, we are pushing to open agricultural markets,
reduce farm subsidies in wealthy nations, and to create new
opportunities for African farmers.
I also urge African nations to lower their own trade barriers
against each other's products. Just as America can do more to open its
markets, so can the nations of Africa. Together we can ensure that all
our citizens have access to the opportunities of markets around the
globe.
The measures I've outlined today--actions on security and health,
education, hunger, foreign aid, and global trade--constitute a major
focus of American foreign policy. America is committed to the success of
Africa because we recognize a moral duty to bring hope where there is
despair and relief where there's suffering. America is committed to the
success of Africa because we understand failed states spread instability
and terror that threatens us all. America is committed to the success of
Africa because the peoples of Africa have every right to live in freedom
and dignity and to share in the progress of our times.
The responsibilities we have accepted in Africa are consistent with
the ideals that have always guided America and the world. Our Nation has
more than a set of interests; I believe we have a calling. For a
century, America has acted to defend the peace, to liberate the
oppressed, and to offer all mankind the promise of freedom and a better
life. And today, as America fights the latest enemies of freedom, we
will strive to expand the realm of freedom for the benefit of all
nations.
The members of this council, with your energy and optimism, are
bringing new opportunities to millions. I want to thank you for your
efforts. I want to thank you for your heart. I want to thank you for
your vision.
May God bless the people on the continent of Africa. And may God
continue to bless the United States of America. Thank you.
Note: The President spoke at 12:13 p.m. in the International Ballroom at
the Washington Hilton Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to Stephen
Hayes, president, Corporate Council on Africa; Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State for African Affairs Robert Perry; President Joaquim
Alberto Chissano of Mozambique; President Festus Gontebanye Mogae of
Botswana; President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa; President Charles
Taylor of Liberia; President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe; and President
Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda.