    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
    [February 20, 2008]
    [Pages 241-248]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's News Conference With President John Agyekum
    Kufuor of Ghana in Accra
    February 20, 2008

        President Kufuor. Welcome, Mr. President. I believe we agreed to
    expose ourselves to the ladies and gentlemen of the media. [Laughter] So
    we are ready for your questions.
        President Bush. Let me have a--you want me to say something
    initially, Mr. President?
        President Kufuor. Well, you may, Mr. President.
        President Bush. See, he doesn't want to hear what I said upstairs
    again. But I do want to say a couple of comments. First of all, thank
    you very much for your warm hospitality. I am really happy to be in
    Ghana, as is my wife. This is her second time
    here, Mr. President. And I want to thank you for this grand welcome. And
    I appreciate your leadership.
        Upstairs we talked about the Millennium Challenge Account. And it is
    a sizeable sum of taxpayers' money, aimed at helping you achieve your
    objectives, because your Government, led by you, is one that fights
    corruption and invests in its children, invests in the health of its
    citizens.
        I'm oftentimes asked, ``What difference does it make to America if
    people are dying of malaria in a place like Ghana or anywhere else?'' It
    means a lot. It means a lot morally; it means a lot from a--it's in our
    national interests. After all, if you believe we're in an ideological
    struggle against extremism, which I do, the only way these people can
    recruit is when they find hopeless people. And there's nothing more
    hopeless than a mother losing a child needlessly to a mosquito bite.
        We're going to--we spent time talking about trade, and I'm looking
    forward to meeting some of your businesses today, Mr. President. I
    believe firmly in fair trade, and I'm a strong supporter of AGOA. My
    predecessor put it in office; I've worked
    to get it reauthorized. And it's an important part of your development.
    Your businesspeople are making decisions. Your businesspeople are
    employing people in your country. And your businesspeople should have
    access to markets.
        I do want to announce today that--I am announcing a new initiative
    dealing with disease, and that is--our plan is to make it available--a
    total of $350 million over 5 years--to target what they call neglected
    tropical diseases, such as hookworm or river blindness. This is all part
    of our initiative--whether it be on HIV/AIDS or malaria--to help save
    lives. And so, Mr. President, we're looking forward to working with you
    to help save lives and to bring hope to families.
        I want to also announce today that we're going to devote nearly 17
    dollars this--million dollars this year to help you on fighting malaria.
    I firmly believe your Government will do a fine job in getting mosquito
    nets and--to your people and medicines to your people. And so we're
    looking forward to helping you.
        I also want to thank you for your leadership, Mr. President. As I
    said upstairs, I don't think a lot of people in Ghana--I hope a lot of
    people in Ghana understand this--what I'm about to say, but you're
    really one of the respected leaders around the world because of your
    firm commitment to peace. I thank you for your leadership here on the
    continent of Africa. My administration's strategy is to support African
    leaders to deal with Africa's problems.
        I know there's a controversial subject brewing around that's not
    very well understood, and that's, why would America step--stand up
    what's called AFRICOM? Let me talk about a couple of points there,

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    Mr. President. First, this is a unique command structure for America. It
    is a command structure that is aiming to help provide military
    assistance to African nations, so African nations are more capable of
    dealing with Africa's conflicts, like peacekeeping training. Obviously,
    we've got an issue in Darfur that we've got to all work together to
    solve. And I'm very pleased that the AU and the U.N. hybrid force should
    be moving in there. I'd like to see it moving quicker, but the whole
    purpose of AFRICOM is to help leaders deal with African problems.
        Secondly, we do not contemplate adding new bases. In other words,
    the purpose of this is not to add military bases. I know there's rumors
    in Ghana: ``All Bush is coming to do is try to convince you to put a big
    military base here.'' That's baloney. [Laughter] Or as we say in Texas,
    ``That's bull.'' [Laughter] Mr. President made it clear to me. He said,
    ``Look, we--you're not going to build in any bases in Ghana.'' I said,
    ``I understand; nor do we want to.'' Now, that doesn't mean we won't
    develop some kind of office somewhere in Africa. We haven't made our
    minds up. This is a new concept.
        Now, Mr. President, I appreciate you giving me time to address this
    issue. I want to dispel the notion that all of a sudden, America is
    bringing all kinds of military to Africa. It's just simply not true.
    This is a way of making our command relevant to the strategy that we
    have put in place. And I feel no more confident than describing--I feel
    very confident in describing that strategy next to you because I am
    confident, Mr. President, in your capacity to be a strong leader. You've
    proved that to be the case.
        And finally, he said we're both leaving office together. That's
    true. But we're going to leave strong with our heads held high, and
    we're going to sprint to the finish, aren't we, Mr. President?
        President Kufuor. Indeed. Thank you.
        President Bush. Good, thank you. Questions?
        President Kufuor. Thank you, Mr. President. Well, may I just
    compliment what the President has just said. I am happy, one, for the
    President dispelling any notion that the United States of America is
    intending to build military bases on the continent of Africa. I believe
    the explanation the President has given should put fade to the
    speculation, so that the relationship between us and the United States
    will grow stronger and with mutual respect; that's for one.
        Two, I should thank the President for the initiative he's just
    announced of creating a fund to fight the neglected diseases on the
    continent. My Government, for example, and I would say that for perhaps
    all African governments, is committed to fighting these diseases, but on
    a very shoestring budget, so that if our friends internationally would
    come out and launch initiatives like this to support us fight these
    diseases, then I will say, ``Welcome, and thank you for that
    initiative.''
        Then the $17 million you are extending to my Government to help in
    the fight against malaria. Just this morning I saw in one of our papers
    that malaria, which perhaps kills more of us than even HIV/AIDS in
    Ghana, has increased by about 13 percent in our community. So any help
    that we can get in our fight to contain and eradicate this disease
    should be most welcome to the people of Ghana. And I thank you for what
    you've done.
        President Bush. Yes, sir. Thank you.
        President Kufuor. Thank you. I believe we'll----
        President Bush. Want to answer a few questions?
        President Kufuor. Yes, we can take questions.
        President Bush. All right, good. Why don't you call on somebody in
    your press, sir.
        President Kufuor. Please. Now, you identify yourself. Whoever is
    going to speak

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    should identify themselves and the papers or radio stations, television
    stations they are working for.

    President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief/President's Visit to Ghana

        Q. Good morning, Your Excellencies, President Kufuor and President
    Bush. Thank you for taking my questions. First, a little bias, first to
    President Kufuor: I would like to know, fighting HIV/AIDS and malaria is
    the focus of this visit, but can you tell us in what other concrete
    terms this visit will benefit the economy of Ghana and Ghanaians in
    particular, since both of you leave office at the end of this year?
        And then to President Bush: We know that your support for the fight
    against HIV/AIDS has been driven by promoting sexual abstinence and
    fidelity to each other's partner. In African societies, we know that
    this doesn't really strike a chord because multiple sexual relationships
    or partner relationships is the reality, though it's not spoken of in
    public. So how realistic an approach would you want be adopted in
    fighting HIV/AIDS within this particular context? Thank you.
        President Bush. Yes, thanks.
        President Kufuor. I answer first. The fight against HIV and malaria
    is not time bound; I'm sure you'd agree with me. The malaria, for
    instance, was with us from perhaps time immemorial, and it's still with
    us. Fortunately, we happen to be living in science and technology times,
    and solutions are being found quickly to pandemics. So within my time, I
    am happy the President of the United States of America has come out with
    large resources, talking of something like $45 billion; it's not
    something you hear of every day.
        So I welcome that. And this money, I hope, will be put to the best
    uses, in terms of engaging the best scientific and technological means
    to tackle this disease. The research is still ongoing. Nobody is
    announcing a find yet, but we shouldn't give up. And within my time, I'm
    happy this help is coming to infuse the efforts we are already making,
    so that the researchers will continue. And long after me, perhaps some
    clever person, scientist, may come out with a solution. This is how I
    want to look at this. I do not give a time bound to the solution that we
    seek. Thank you.
        President Bush. First of all, obviously, the status quo is not
    acceptable. One of the reasons that I was motivated to put forth a
    significant request to our Congress for a comprehensive program to deal
    with HIV/AIDS is, I felt it was unacceptable to stand by and watch a
    generation of people, a generation of folks be eradicated.
        And so I understand customs and norms, but it seems like to me that
    if you really want to solve the problem, step one is to have a
    comprehensive prevention program. And you mentioned abstinence. No
    question, that's a part of the program--or be faithful. But also, I just
    want to remind you, there's a third part called condoms. So we have an
    ABC program that is a comprehensive part of the strategy.
        And it's working. Uganda, for example, was the first country to
    really put the ABC strategy in place, and the results are measurable.
    All I'm interested in is results. I'm wise enough to set the strategy
    and change the tactics if they're not working.
        Secondly, part of our strategy is to dispense antiretroviral drugs.
    When I first became President, 50,000 people were receiving ARVs; today,
    over 1.2 million are. As I said to our country, this is good. These are
    measurable results, and it's a good start, but it's only a start. And
    that's why, as the President mentioned, I've asked for Congress to
    double our budget on HIV/AIDS to 30 billion over 5.
        And finally, part of the strategy is to take care of the orphans who
    have been left behind. Now I don't believe that sometimes bureaucracies
    are all that effective. And so part of our strategies is to trust the
    local leadership to devise strategies that best suits their country. And
    the other part of

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    the strategy is to empower these compassionate folks who want to help,
    whether they be faith based or otherwise.
        And so to answer your question, ma'am, I monitor the results. And if
    it looks like it's not working, then we'll change. But thus far, I can
    report, at least to our citizens, that the program has been unbelievably
    effective. And we're going to stay at it. And the purpose of this trip
    is to remind the American taxpayers that it's in their interest to help
    save lives on the continent of Africa. So this program will extend
    beyond my time in office as well as John Kufuor's time in office.
        Ben Feller, Associated----
        President Kufuor. May I just add, Mr. President----
        President Bush. Yes, sure.
        President Kufuor. ----to what you said. Unless we are challenging
    the statistic given by the AIDS Commission of Ghana, the very reputable
    establishment, the prevalence rate dropped from 2006, when it was 2.6
    percent, to 2.2 percent in 2007. I believe that's considerable. And
    perhaps some of the credit should be given to the extension of help in
    terms of resources, including the antiretroviral drugs that we got from
    development partners like the United States of America.
        So even as we agree to perhaps a bit of looseness in our ways, we
    must also admit that whatever input we are making, are contributing
    towards enabling us contain the menace; I believe I should add that.
    From 2.6 percent prevalence rate of HIV in 2007, we got 2.2 percent, a
    reduction of prevalence in 2006. I believe we should acknowledge that.
        President Bush. All right. Ben Feller, Associated Press. I will
    identify him for you, Mr. President.
        President Kufuor. Thank you.
        President Bush. Ben Feller. [Laughter]

    Pakistan/U.S. Aid to Africa

        Q. Thank you for covering that, Mr. President.
        President Bush. Yes. I was afraid you couldn't handle it.
        Q. Thank you. President Bush, I would like to ask you about
    Pakistan. President Musharraf's party has been routed in parliamentary
    elections there, and it appears that he's lost the support of his
    people. Do you see this as the beginning of the end for him? Do you
    still view him as a credible leader in the fight against terrorism?
        President Kufuor, I would like to ask you, President Bush has made a
    point on this trip of saying that helping Africa is in America's
    interest, but in the United States, a lot of people are focused on their
    own families and their own finances. Do you believe Americans see it in
    their interest to help Africa?
        President Bush. Yes. I might try to help you out on the last
    question. America is wealthy enough to do both.
        There was a victory for the people of Pakistan, and that is, there
    were elections held that have been judged as being fair. And the people
    have spoken. I view that as a significant victory. I view it as a part
    of the victory in the war on terror. After all, ideologues can't stand--
    like these guys we're dealing with--can't stand free societies. That's
    why they try to kill innocent people. That's why they tried to
    intimidate people during the election process.
        And so I'm--I appreciate the fact that President
    Musharraf has done exactly that which he
    said he was going to do. He said he'd hold elections; he said he would
    get rid of his emergency law. And so it's now time for the newly elected
    folks to show up and form their Government. And the question then is,
    will they be friends of the United States? And I certainly hope so.
        We view Pakistan as an important ally. We've got common interests.
    We've got interests in dealing with radicals who killed Benazir Bhutto.
    We've got interests in helping make sure there's no safe haven from
    which people can plot and plan attacks

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    against the United States of America and Pakistan. And so that's my take
    on the elections.
        President Kufuor. Thank you, and whether American interests
    coincides with African interests, I would say, yes. Yes. One should ask
    what the whole idea of the United States is about. The U.S. is a melting
    pot of all the races and nationalities of the world. Your country has a
    large content of African Americans, so that I would expect that
    constituency of Africa--and incidentally, the African Union has itemized
    the people of African descent as the sixth region of Africa. And so we
    look on the African Americans as our kith and kin, and they constitute a
    sizeable constituency in the United States. It should be in their
    interest to support any help the United States can extend to Africa.
    That's one.
        Two, we are all moving into a global village, and problems overspill
    easily, especially with the free movements of people and trade, so that
    if the United States should lock itself into isolationism and think they
    are safer there, then I would say, perhaps they don't know what is
    coming, because global village is a reality. Migration cannot be
    stopped, and if you do not help, then the vibrant youth of Africa,
    driven by the technological age forces--they watch television, the
    Internet, and so forth--they want to move and see what's happening
    around the world. They will come to you, and if you do not help us to
    prepare this youth, then whatever youth would land on your shores would
    come with all the roughness, the hurry, and that would be your headache.
        So I believe it's enlightenment for the United States Government to
    want to support them here. And then we talk terrorism, which has no
    bounds. As evidence, when the 9/11 happened in your country, it wasn't
    only Americans who became victims; some Ghanaians died in that event,
    and shows we have common interests somewhere. So these and other factors
    should account for why the United States, perhaps industrially and
    otherwise the most advanced country in the world, should be concerned
    about the plight of other peoples. Thank you.

    President's Visit to Africa/U.S. Role in Africa

        Q. Good morning, Your Excellencies. My question is to President
    Bush. Looking at Africa from afar, things might look bleak, but all may
    not be lost yet. A new Africa is emerging. But in your candid view, what
    do you think Africa must do, and what kind of leadership do you expect
    to see in Africa? And how will the U.S. help in this regard, to push
    forward the agenda to transform the continent into a better place for
    its people?
        And secondly, what do you hope to achieve from your five-nation
    tour, and why have you decided to visit Africa on the last lap of your
    term? And how do you want to ensure continuity in whatever you hope to
    achieve?
        President Bush. Thanks. I actually went to Africa on the first lap
    of my Presidency too. This is my second trip to the continent of Africa,
    and I've come to remind our fellow citizens that it is in our interest
    to help countries deal with curable diseases like malaria and difficult
    diseases like HIV/AIDS; that it's in our interest to promote trade
    between the continent of Africa and the United States of America; that
    it's in our interest to provide education money so governments will
    educate children.
        And there's no better way of making that point than to be in Ghana,
    where people will get to see firsthand what I'm talking about. It's one
    thing to be giving speeches in America, it's another thing to actually
    come to Ghana and meet different folks that are involved with making
    the--Ghana a better place.
        Secondly, first of all, Africa has changed since I've been the
    President, in a very positive way. It's not because of me; it's because
    of African leaders--I want you to know. But there was six regional
    conflicts

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    when I became the President. Take Liberia, for example. It was a real
    issue and a real problem, and along with Nigeria and with John's advice,
    for example, we--I made some decisions, along with other leaders, that
    helped put in place the first democratically elected woman on the continent's history. And I'm going
    there tomorrow to herald the successes she's done and to reaffirm our
    commitment that we'll help.
        In other words, conflict resolution has been taking place. And the
    United States hasn't tried to impose a will. We've just tried to be a
    useful partner, like in eastern Congo, for example, working with the
    Presidents of Rwanda and Congo and Burundi.
        Secondly, democracy is making progress across the continent of
    Africa. One reason why is because there are examples like John Kufuor
    for people to look at. I'm telling you, the guy is a respected person.
    People look at him, and they say, this is the kind of leader that we
    respect.
        And thirdly, our aid program has changed from one that basically
    said, here's your money, good luck, to one that said, in return for
    generosity, we expect there to be certain habits in place, like fighting
    corruption or investing in the education of children. I don't think
    that's too much to ask in return for U.S. taxpayers' money. It hasn't
    been asked in the past. This is a novel approach, interestingly enough.
    But I feel confident in asking nations to adhere to good principles
    because I believe in setting high standards for African leaders.
        I'm confident in the capacity of the leaders I have met--not every
    single leader--but on this trip, the leaders I'm with are leaders who
    have committed themselves to the good of their people, have committed
    themselves to honest government, have committed themselves to investing
    in people. They're more interested in leaving behind a legacy of
    education than leaving behind fancy--a self-serving government. And
    there's no better way of making that point than coming to the continent.
    And that's why I'm here, and I'm glad I am here. It's been a great trip,
    and it's--and I appreciate the hospitality of my friend, and so does
    Laura.
        Let's see here, John McKinnon. He would be from your Wall Street
    Journal. Yes, that's a pretty sophisticated paper, no question about
    that.
        Q. Thanks for that plug.
        President Bush. Yes. I didn't say, sophisticated reporter, I said,
    sophisticated paper. But--and a sophisticated reporter as well--yes,
    Johnny.

    China

        Q. Thank you, Mr. President. I would like to ask both you leaders
    about the increasing role of China in Africa's development. What do you
    think is positive about its role in aid and commerce, and what do you
    think it could be doing a better job with? In particular, do you think
    it's ignoring human rights issues and corruption?
        President Bush. Well, I might let John start. He's, after all, been
    engaged with leaders. I have an opinion, but we'll let him start.
        President Kufuor. I believe we should all agree, for starters, that
    the world is opening up and opening up fast. Values are becoming
    uniform, and the--our multinational efforts agenda, openness and
    competitiveness and all-inclusiveness. Now China is spreading out, and
    it's here in Africa and in Ghana too. It's coming not as a colonial
    power, as far as we can see; it's coming, if I may put it, as a guest
    and, I believe, on our terms, on the terms of the African nations.
        And I can assure you, our nations are not succumbing to dictates and
    impositions, not from China nor elsewhere. If it's something that Africa
    wants to buy and it can find it economical, then whatever it is, that's
    where Africa will buy it from. And China is proving quite competitive.
    So how do we stop China? We can't stop China. We are relating, and we
    want to relate on

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    common values. We believe that's what, again, globalization should be
    all about. We are in the United Nations with China. We talk World Trade
    Organization, and I believe China is finding its way into that.
        President Bush. Yes.
        President Kufuor. We want peace around the world. How do we have
    peace if we do not engage each other peacefully in trade, in common
    dialogue, and in other respects? So this is China. As to it being
    useful, and I would say, so far, so good. And I believe Africa is
    showing awareness because Africa came out of colonialism not too long
    ago. Ghana, for instance--the first country south of the Sahara to have
    gained independence--gained independence only 50 years ago. And I don't
    think the memory is lost to Africa.
        So whatever friendships we are engaging in now, we try as hard as
    possible to turn our new partners around. We try to see if we are
    engaging on our best terms so we maximize returns for us. Of course, we
    also care about our partners feeling that they haven't come in here to
    be shortchanged. There should be mutual advantage to all of us, and this
    is how we are engaging with China. So as far as we are concerned, so
    far, it's all right with China.
        Human rights, well, this would call for knowledge of what obtains in
    China. I don't pretend that we are too informed of what happens inside
    China, but we believe that in due course, whatever the situation is,
    there will be a tendency towards liberalization. Before, the
    relationship with China was government to government; now it's getting
    to be people to people. It seems all of us are coming under the
    influences of the information and communications technology.
        So our views are becoming the same. People are beginning to speak
    for themselves everywhere and standing for their rights. I believe even
    in China this will come to prevail in due course. And on this basis, I
    don't think it would be right for people to ostracize. Rather, we should
    find ways and means to engage with each other so it becomes a more
    understanding world for all of us. Thank you.
        President Bush. I don't view Africa as zero sum for China and the
    United States. I mean, I think their--we can pursue agendas that--
    without creating a great sense of competition. Inherent in your question
    is that I view China as a fierce competitor on the continent of Africa--
    no, I don't.
        I view--first of all, I just will tell you that our policy is aimed
    at helping people. Trade helps people. I mean, one reason I'm committed
    to trying to get the Doha round complete is because the benefits of
    trade will far exceed monies given. I believe that it's in our Nation's
    interests--like, I noticed on the seal of the country it says, freedom
    and justice. There's nothing that promotes justice more than good
    education.
        Now, I do think that it's in the leaders' interests to have some
    high standards; like, for example, I presume that countries are saying
    that if you bring your capital, make sure that you employ African
    workers. I know some of the leaders I've talked to have said that one of
    the things we're going to do is make sure that our environment is
    protected, our trees are protected; that we're not going to allow
    ourselves to become exploited; that we, in fact, want to have relations
    with different countries, including China, but there is--there will be
    some high standards. And that's the way it should be, high standards for
    every country. And the United States, of course, is willing to live with
    those standards. We believe in those standards.
        And so one thing that I hope that we're getting, that we all can do
    better, is to encourage value-added processing. And one of the things
    that has been lacking in Africa's past is for the people to really,
    truly realize the benefits of the resources at home, because those
    resources are just dug out of the ground or grown and just shipped
    overseas, when, in fact, if there could be facilities that take
    advantage of

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    those resources, it will create more employment for people. And I know
    that John is concerned about that.
        And my only point is, there ought to be--you know, these countries
    ought to set standards and expect countries to live by them. And there's
    plenty of leaders who are willing to do that.
        Anyway, thank you very much, Mr. President. It's been a joyful
    experience here in the press conference.
        President Kufuor. Thank you, Mr. President, for coming.
        President Bush. Yes, sir.
        President Kufuor. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

    Note: The President's news conference began at 10:38 a.m. at Osu Castle.
    In his remarks, he referred to President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan;
    former Prime Minister and Opposition Leader Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan,
    who was killed in a suicide attack in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, on December
    27, 2007; President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia; President Paul
    Kagame of Rwanda; President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of
    the Congo; and President Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi.