[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
[July 12, 2003]
[Pages 863-864]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
[[Page 863]]
Remarks Prior to Discussions With President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and an Exchange With Reporters in Abuja,
Nigeria
July 12, 2003
President Obasanjo. Mr. President----
President Bush. Here, I'll stand up with you.
President Obasanjo. Is that what you want?
President Bush. Oh, absolutely. I want to be over here. [Laughter]
President Obasanjo. It is, indeed, a matter of general honor and
pleasure for me to welcome you, Mr. President, to our country, Nigeria.
On behalf of all the people of Nigeria, I sincerely extend to you our
warmest greetings on this historic visit to our continent of Africa in
general and to Nigeria in particular.
President has generally acknowledged that much has changed in the
world since the end of the cold war. There's no doubt there is an
emerging new world order, with new realities of nations and people
throughout the world--their international outlooks, seek new friends and
confirm old realities in the bid to find fresh places for global peace,
harmony, and security.
In this imagined new world order, Mr. President, the rest of the
world acknowledges that the United States of America will remain a key
player politically, economically, and militarily. Thus we appreciate
your visit to our continent as indication that Africa is to be reckoned
with in the emerging world order. We salute your visit to so many
African countries--four of them--and now Nigeria, in particular, as an
expression that Africa should not be sidelined or even detached from
the--of the emerging world order.
We in Africa realize the extent to which we are ultimately
responsible for our own development and that we are the architects of
our fortune or misfortune. Nevertheless, this is also generally true
that hardly any country has transformed its fortunes without external
support from friends and well-wishers. That is why we acknowledge with
deepest appreciation the role that the United States has played and
continues to play, particularly within the G-8, in supporting the vision
of the New Partnership for African Development, NEPAD. As you are well
aware, Mr. President, NEPAD is our vision as well as our blueprint for
making our continent great.
Through the NEPAD, African leaders have made a commitment to the
African peoples and to the world to work together in developing the
continent by consolidating democracy, good governance, and implementing
such general social, economic development programs. Implicit in the
NEPAD program are all the universal values, such as democracy, human
rights, rule of law, eradication of corruption, conflict resolution, and
fight against terrorism. We are hopeful that NEPAD will strengthen
Africa's position in the emerging world order.
Here in Nigeria, we are making bold strides to consolidate democracy
and reform our Government structures as well as the national economy. We
also have continuing and new regional responsibilities, especially in
the area of maintaining security. These areas require global
understanding, cooperation, and substantial financial support. You will
agree with me that sustainable national reforms are central to regional
and global transformation and for development.
Thank you, Mr. President.
President Bush. Thank you, friend.
It's my honor, Mr. President, to be here as your guest. Gosh, we've
met three or four times already. You keep telling me to come to your
country--finally made it. And I'm glad we're here. It's been a--it's an
honor.
[[Page 864]]
Listen, Nigeria is a very important country on the continent of
Africa. And because of your forthrightness and your style and your
commitment, you're a very important leader on this continent, and I'm
honored to be here with you.
I appreciate very much your commitment to trade and markets, and we
look forward to being an active trading partner with Nigeria. I
appreciate your commitment to regional peace, and we will work with
Nigeria and ECOWAS on issues such as Liberia. I appreciate very much
your focus on education, and the United States stands ready to help.
But most of all, Mr. President, I appreciate your honesty and
openness and forthrightness when it comes to battling the pandemic of
AIDS. You're truly an international leader on this issue. And the United
States of America, when Congress acts, will stand side by side with
leaders such as yourself to fight the pandemic of AIDS to save lives.
So Mr. President, it's an honor to be here. I've been looking
forward to this visit for a long time. I appreciate your leadership, and
I appreciate your friendship. Thank you very much.
Director of Central Intelligence/State of the Union Address
Q. Mr. President, do you have faith in your CIA Director?
President Bush. Yes, I do, absolutely. I've got confidence in George
Tenet. I've got confidence in the men and
women who work at the CIA, and I continue to--I look forward to working
with them and--as we win this war on terror.
Q. Mr. President----
Assistant Press Secretary Reed Dickens.
Thank you all. Thank you.
Q. Is the matter over then?
Q. Mr. Bush, what about----
Q. Do you consider the matter over, sir, that----
President Bush. I do.
Liberia
Q. What about Liberia? Is America sending troops to Liberia?
President Bush. The President and I just talked about Liberia, and
we are--our assessment teams are still in place. We need to know exactly
what is necessary to achieve our objectives. The first objective, of
course, is for Mr. Taylor to leave the
country, which he said he is--do. And I want to thank the President for
his leadership on that issue. It's been a tough issue, but he's led. And
the world is grateful for that.
Secondly, we've got a commitment to the cease-fire. And therefore,
we need to know exactly what it means to keep the cease-fire in place.
Thirdly, we got a commitment to relieve human suffering, and we need to
know what that has required. And so, we're still in the process of
assessing. And I told the President we would be active. And the
definition of that will be made known when we're--when we understand all
the parameters.
Q. See a decision next week, sir?
Assistant Press Secretary Dickens. Thank
you all very much. Thank you----
President Bush. I'm not sure yet when, Randy [Randall Mikkelsen,
Reuters].
Assistant Press Secretary Dickens. Pool,
let's go.
Q. Thank you, sir.
President Bush. Thank you.
Note: The President spoke at approximately 10:58 a.m. at Aso
Presidential Villa. In his remarks, he referred to President Charles
Taylor of Liberia. A tape was not available for verification of the
content of these remarks.