[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
[February 17, 2008]
[Pages 218-225]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's News Conference With President Jakaya Mrisho 
Kikwete of Tanzania in Dar es Salaam, 
Tanzania
February 17, 2008

    President Kikwete. Mr. President, welcome. I stand before you with a 
deep sense of gratitude and satisfaction to once again welcome you, Mr. 
President, and your entire delegation to our dear country, Tanzania. The 
outpouring of warmth and affection from the people of Tanzania that you 
have witnessed since your arrival is a genuine reflection of what we 
feel towards you and towards the American people.
    Welcome, Your Excellency, and your great wife Madam Laura Bush, as 
enduring partners for our empowerment as we struggle to pull ourselves 
to prosperity and back from backwardness and undevelopment, infested by 
poverty, disease, and deprivation of basic social and economic services. 
We welcome you, Mr. President, as a supportive and understanding partner 
as we take the necessary measures to promote democracy, human rights, 
and good governance. You are a dependable partner, indeed, in the 
pursuit of ensuring national, as well as regional, peace and stability 
in the African Continent.
    Mr. President, you have shown great compassion for Africa and its 
people. You have personally reached out using different initiatives, 
instruments, and moral leadership to support Africa's efforts to improve 
governance, to fight poverty, to seek shared prosperity, to resolve 
conflict, to improve security, and jointly to fight the scourge of 
terrorism. Tanzania has been and is committed and poised to continue 
being an important partner and beneficiary of your empathy and support 
towards the African peoples.
    Mr. President, we thank you for your deep understanding and empathy 
for the challenges we face on the African Continent. And we truly 
appreciate what you have done to support us where we needed support for 
the sake of welfare and dignity of our people.
    Ten days ago in Washington, DC, at the 56th National Prayer 
Breakfast, the keynote

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speaker and a close friend of Africa, Ward Brehm, Chairman of African 
Development Foundation, spoke eloquently of the fourfold increase in 
various forms of support to Africa under your administration. There was 
immediately an extended applause and standing ovation from the 4,000 
people in the audience from the 155 countries. Today I want you to know 
that we in Tanzania, who have benefited and are continuing to benefit 
from your commitment to Africa, join in that thunderous applause and 
standing ovation.
    President Bush. Thank you, sir.
    President Kikwete. Mr. President, today, there are thousands of 
women and children who have--would have died from malaria that are alive 
in Tanzania and all over the country thanks to your malaria support 
program. I can give the example of Zanzibar. In 2004 in the outpatient 
clinic, 500,000 malaria patients were treated; in 2007, only 10,000. In 
2004 in Zanzibar, 40 percent of the patients tested positive for 
malaria; in 2007, only 5 percent. When the blood slide is taken, 35 
percent tested positive for malaria in 2004; in 2007, only 1 percent.
    I can go on and on and say and mention examples, but this is only a 
very brief press briefing. Today, there are thousands of children who 
have managed to avoid joining the already long list of orphans and who 
continue to enjoy the love, guidance, and support of their parents who 
are alive because of the AIDS care and treatment they get with the 
support of PEPFAR initiative. Mr. President, thank you. Today, as a 
result of PEPFAR, parents with AIDS are able to take care of their 
children.
    And here today we have signed the Millennium Challenge compact, the 
largest ever. This funding will go a long way towards addressing some of 
our critical infrastructure challenges, which have for a long time been 
an obstacle to our growth and development. We very much thank you, Mr. 
President. We thank your esteemed Government for agreeing with us to 
give the infrastructure sector the priority it deserves.
    Your decision that this compact should be signed here in Dar es 
Salaam today speaks volumes about how deep you have Tanzania in your 
heart. We are also grateful to the United States Congress for accepting 
your administration's request to fund the Tanzanian compact package. We 
also thank the MCC Board and the very able leadership of Secretary Rice. 
We appreciate the tremendous efforts of Ambassador Danilovich and his 
staff in making this day possible.
    Let me end by saying that different people may have different views 
about you and your administration and your legacy, but we in Tanzania, 
if we are to speak for ourselves and for Africa, we know for sure that 
you, Mr. President, and your administration have been good friends of 
our country and have been good friends of Africa.
    I know you leave office in about 12 months' time. Rest assured that 
you will be remembered for many generations to come for the good things 
you have done for Tanzania and the good things you have done for Africa. 
Your legacy will be that of saving hundreds of thousands of mothers' and 
children's lives from malaria, preventing new HIV infections and giving 
hope to those infected through care and treatment, and helping millions 
of young men and women get education. Last but not least, the legacy of 
assisting African nations and peoples build capacity for their own 
growth and development.
    And today with the signing of the MCA compact, you are making it 
possible for the people of Tanzania to chart a brighter future 
underpinned by growth, opportunity, and democracy. We owe it to you and, 
indeed, to the American people that this compact meet its objectives and 
becomes a source of pride and satisfaction for our two governments and 
peoples.
    We owe it to you, Mr. President, and indeed, to our people, that in 
governing

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this dear country of ours, we act in a manner that will justify this 
tremendous trust and confidence you have shown in us. This is my 
promise. I thank you, and welcome.
    President Bush. Thank you, sir. Thanks for your very generous 
comments. Vipi mambo?
    President Kikwete. Poa! [Laughter]
    President Bush. For the uneducated, that's Swahili for, ``Howdy, you 
all.'' [Laughter]
    Mr. President, I thank you for your invitation. It's a real pleasure 
to set foot in your beautiful country. Laura and 
I are honored that you invited us, and we're so grateful for the warm 
welcome we received last night. It was very moving, for those of us 
racing through the streets of Dar es Salaam, to see thousands of people 
there greeting us. And I really do want to extend my thanks.
    Mr. President, I stand next to you advocating to our people strong 
initiatives on behalf of the people of Tanzania, because you're a strong 
leader. I'll just put it bluntly: America doesn't want to spend money on 
people who steal the money from the people. [Laughter] We like dealing 
with honest people and compassionate people. We want our money to go to 
help the human condition and to lift human lives. We act not out of 
guilt, but out of compassion, Mr. President. And that's why we're in 
your beautiful country. I also appreciate the fact that you're--have 
been elected the Chairman of the African Union; it speaks to your 
leadership.
    We are partners in democracy. We believe that governments ought to 
respond to the people. We're also partners in fighting disease, 
extending opportunity, and working for peace. Mr. President, I mentioned 
I was proud to sign, along with the President, the largest Millennium 
Challenge Account in the history of the United States here in Tanzania. 
It will provide nearly $700 million over 5 years to improve Tanzania's 
transportation network, secure, reliable supplies of energy, and expand 
access to clean and safe water.
    My hope is that such an initiative will be part of a effort to 
transform parts of this country to become more hopeful places, Mr. 
President. We join you in this because of your Government and your 
personal commitment to fight corruption, to invest in the education and 
health of your people, and to accept and expand marketplace economics. 
Those are the conditions of the Millennium Challenge Account. Oh, in the 
past, countries would give aid and hope for the best. America believes 
that people can achieve high standards, and therefore, our support to 
you is based upon our belief and your performance when it comes to 
achieving high standards.
    The United States and Tanzania are working together to fight 
disease. As the President mentioned--that our efforts are really focused 
on HIV/AIDS and malaria. Since I've been the President, the number of 
antiretrovirals extended to people on the continent of Africa have grown 
from 50,000 to over 1.2 million people. And I tell people in America, 
that's great, that's good. We've measured it, and it's successful. But 
it's only a start, Mr. President.
    And therefore, I've gone to our Congress to get them to double the 
amount of HIV/AIDS money for the continent of Africa. The plan we put in 
place, the strategy we put in place is working. And Congress needs to 
make sure that this HIV/AIDS plan, PEPFAR, gets reauthorized for a 5-
year period of time. We don't want people guessing on the continent of 
Africa whether or not the generosity of the American people will 
continue.
    I appreciate very much your focus on malaria as well. It breaks my 
heart to know that little children are dying needlessly because of a 
mosquito bite. I also fully understand, like you do, Mr. President, that 
this is a soluble problem. It takes some money, but it also takes 
organization. It takes the

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willingness to distribute nets and insecticides and education to the 
people, and that's what you're doing.
    I appreciate the fact that you brought up the example of Zanzibar. 
It is an example for all on the continent of Africa of what can happen. 
I mean, this is a place that had been sorely affected by malaria. Today, 
as Mr. President pointed out, the number of infections have declined 
dramatically, and that ought to make the people of Tanzania feel good. 
It also ought to make the American people feel good, to know that their 
taxpayers' dollars are going to save human lives. And it's in our 
interests, it's in our moral interest that we continue to do so.
    And so, Mr. President, we're so proud of the efforts that you and 
your Government and the people at the grassroots level have made to 
distribute nets and insecticides, all in the aim of answering a 
universal call to protect the most vulnerable amongst us. And we're 
proud to be your partner.
    We also talked about international affairs. I appreciate the 
President's strong advice. One reason he was elected to be the head of 
the AU is, he knows what he's talking about. Therefore, it's important 
for me to listen to him, which I have done. [Laughter]
    We talked about Zimbabwe. There's no doubt the people of Zimbabwe 
deserve a Government that serves their interests and recognizes their 
basic human rights and holds free and fair elections. That's in the 
interest of the people of Zimbabwe. It happens to be in the interest of 
the world as well.
    We discussed the genocide in Darfur, and America provides a lot of 
food aid to the people in Darfur. We're trying to help them. But the 
truth of the matter is, there are obstacles to peace in Darfur. And that 
is one of the reasons we've imposed tough sanctions, real, meaningful 
sanctions against those who are stopping progress toward alleviating the 
human suffering in Darfur.
    I do want to appreciate the fact--to express my appreciation, Mr. 
President, that you've committed a battalion of Tanzanian troops to go 
to Darfur. And we're proud to have worked with you to help them train up 
for the mission.
    So we've had a great visit so far, but, like, this is just the 
beginning of the visit. And I'm looking forward to having dinner with 
you tonight, looking forward to traveling to parts of your country to 
see firsthand the great compassionate works that are taking place. And 
again, I want to thank you for your hospitality. You're a good man, Mr. 
President, and I'm proud to call you friend. [Laughter]
    Moderator. I thank His Excellencies. Thank you. Thank you very much 
for those excellent statements. And now with your permission, we will 
invite questions from the media. As we said, it will be two questions 
from both sides, and I will start with the Tanzanian side. And I will 
call on--[inaudible]--to ask the first question. Mr.--[inaudible]--
please.
    President Bush. You better use the mike--[inaudible]. I'm a little 
old these days. [Laughter] I'm not hearing very well.

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

    Q. My question goes to you, Mr. President. Your visit has come 
rather late, during the end of your Presidency. And I would like to 
know, why is it Tanzania and Africa in general so important now?
    President Bush. Yes. Thanks, yes. Africa has actually been important 
from the start of my administration. I'll never forget having a 
conversation with then my--my then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza 
Rice. It was early on in the 
administration, and we were talking about priorities and matters of 
emphasis.
    And she asked me whether or not I 
really cared about Africa, and my answer to her then is the same answer 
I will give to you now: Absolutely. It's in our national

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interests that America help deal with hopelessness, and it's our moral 
interests that we help brothers and sisters who hurt. It's been the 
policy of the Bush administration since day one. That's why, in the 
first 4 years of my administration, I went to Congress, and I asked them 
to double foreign aid to Africa. And then, as I began the second half of 
my administration, I asked them to double it again. Why? Because it's in 
our interests to work on issues such as malaria and AIDS.
    It also appalled me very on, sir, in my administration to realize 
that an entire generation of people could be lost to HIV/AIDS and that 
those of us who were comfortable weren't doing much about it. I'm a man 
who believes in certain principles, and I refuse to yield from those 
principles. And one such principle is that to whom much is given, much 
is required. And a lot has been given to the United States of America. 
We're a blessed nation. And therefore, I felt all along it was incumbent 
upon us to help deal with this pandemic that was--could have literally 
wiped out an entire generation of Africans and left thousands and 
thousands of boys and girls orphaned.
    And so this has been a priority of mine. Why finally getting to 
Tanzania? I don't have many excuses, except I've been a pretty busy guy. 
[Laughter] And secondly, it seems like a fortuitous time to come. After 
all, the results of our efforts are becoming more and more tangible, and 
there's no better place to come than a place where people achieve 
results.
    Now, there's still a lot of conflict here on this continent; I 
understand that. I was asked yesterday, ``Well, how come you're not 
going to the places of conflict?'' Well, one reason you go to places of 
success is to show people what's possible. I am going tomorrow [Tuesday] 
* to a place that had been in serious conflict, however, and that's 
Rwanda. And one of the reasons I'm going there is to show that after 
this horrible situation that occurred, there's life and there's hope and 
there's progress. And one way to make sure that situations like that 
don't occur, however, is to deal with the human condition. And that's 
what this trip is all about. It's heralding good leadership, it's 
heralding honest government, and it's focusing our help on local folks' 
efforts to deal with malaria and AIDS. And so thanks for the question.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    * White House correction.
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    Q. Jennifer Loven of Associated Press.
    President Bush. Yes, Jennifer.
    Q. [Inaudible]
    President Bush. Oops, that's not going to work. Okay, well, you 
block everybody's view then. [Laughter]
    Q. Sorry. It's kind of awkward. Thank you.
    President Bush. You're handling it well, though.

President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief/Senator Barack Obama

    Q. I'm trying. On PEPFAR----
    President Bush. Yes.
    Q. ----there are many Democrats, as well as some medical experts, 
who say that the abstinence provision--spending such a chunk of the 
money on abstinence programs is too inflexible and should be dropped. 
Would you consider doing that?
    And then to President Kikwete, I'd like to ask you about American 
politics. There seems to be a lot of excitement here in Africa and in 
your country about Barack Obama. And I wonder what you think it says 
about America, that we might elect a black President with roots in 
Africa?
    President Bush. It seemed like there was a lot of excitement for 
me--wait a minute. [Laughter] Maybe I--maybe you missed it.
    Anyway, look, my attitude toward Congress is, look, see what works. 
PEPFAR is working. It is a balanced program. It is an ABC program: 
abstinence, be faithful, and condoms. It's a program that's been proven 
effective. And I understand there's

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voices on both ends of the political spectrum trying to alter the 
program. I would ask Congress to listen to leaders on the continent of 
Africa, find--analyze what works, stop the squabbling, and get the 
program reauthorized. One of the worst things that can happen is, 
there's uncertainty. You got a lot of faith-based providers and 
community organizers here wondering whether or not America will keep its 
commitment.
    And so I--you know, I can understand debates, and those are fine. 
But they need to end the debates, adopt a reasonable policy--I happen to 
think the current policy is reasonable; after all, it's working--and get 
it done.
    You want to answer the American political--[laughter]. See, she 
didn't ask me it because she knew I wouldn't answer the question. 
[Laughter]
    President Kikwete. Well, I don't think I can venture into that 
territory either. Of course, people talk with excitement of Obama. Well, 
our excitement is that President Bush is at the end of his term and the 
U.S. is going to get a new President. Whoever that one is, for us, the 
most important thing is, let him be as good friend of Africa as 
President Bush has been.
    President Bush. Thank you. Yes.
    Moderator. We will now take the second and final question from the 
Tanzanian press.
    President Kikwete. Of course, if I can--maybe let me just say about 
PEPFAR, let me just make an appeal: Let PEPFAR continue. This is a 
passionate appeal from us. It has been quite useful, as I was saying in 
my speech. There would have been so many orphans to date had it not been 
for PEPFAR, the care and treatment--so many parents now who have been 
infected can live. And some of them can live as many years as possible, 
as long as they adhere to the ABCs of the person infected with HIV 
living on ARVs.
    So can you imagine if this program is discontinued or disrupted? 
There would be so many people who will lose hope, and certainly, there 
will be death. You create more orphans. My passionate appeal is for 
PEPFAR to continue. Through PEPFAR, you know, we did nationwide testing. 
In 6 months, we have been able to have 3.4 million people tested, and 
through PEPFAR, we got 2 million test kits. Had it not been for PEPFAR, 
we would have done less than that. So it's for us--really, for PEPFAR 
not to continue, well, it's a recipe for disaster for us. That's what I 
can say.
    President Bush. Yes. Thank you.
    Q. Thank you, Mr. President.
    Moderator. A final question from the Tanzanian side, and I would 
want to recognize Richard from the Citizen.

U.S. Foreign Policy in Africa

    Q. Thank you. President George Bush, you are here with President 
Kikwete, who was recently elected as the head of African Union. Can you 
promise the people of Africa--how will you support President Kikwete 
next 12 months to make sure that the long-end crisis in Darfur, Somalia, 
and the recent tribal clashes in Kenya are solved effectively?
    President Bush. Well, thank you. We have been actively engaged in 
diplomatic efforts on the continent of Africa for a long period of time 
and very engaged since I've been the President. You might remember, 
Liberia was an issue early on in my Presidency. We engaged both 
diplomatically and, to a certain extent, militarily, in that I sent U.S. 
marines off the USS Iwo Jima onto--into Liberia to help stabilize the 
situation. As a matter of fact, I'm going to Liberia as my last stop on 
this very important trip to support the President, the first elected woman President on the continent of 
Africa, and to remind her that the U.S.'s help will be constant and 
enduring.
    And so step one, you can be assured that we're interested in the 
affairs of Africa. All you have to do is look at the--at what we've done 
in this administration.

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    Secondly, I've always believed that we ought to support African 
leaders and not impose our views on African leaders. I mean, there's a 
certain amount of trust that goes with good foreign policy, and we trust 
your President to make the right decisions to help resolve some of these 
conflicts, and we'll be active in the process.
    So you mentioned Kenya. As a matter of fact, we spent a fair amount 
of time dealing with Kenya. The President informed me about his 
discussions with Kofi Annan, and we support the 
Annan missions very strongly. And to that end, our Secretary of State, 
Condoleezza Rice, will be going to Kenya 
tomorrow. And it's just--I find it interesting--I think you ought to 
find it illustrative--that prior to her trip, she and I spent time 
discussing a mutual strategy with the President: How best can we help 
the process? Not what we should do to dictate to the process, but what 
can America do to help the process move along?
    And so our position--and by the way, when it comes to AU efforts in 
areas where it requires--which requires peacekeepers, we've been very 
strong about helping to train and transport or arrange transportation 
for peacekeepers into troubled areas. And so our record speaks for 
itself, and it--the way we've conducted our foreign policy with Africa 
is, one, it's been a priority, and two, as I say, we come to the 
continent not out of guilt but out of compassion. And we come to the 
continent with confidence that there are leaders here who are very 
capable of charting the way forward to peaceful resolution of conflicts.
    Q. Toby Zakaria [Tabassum Zakaria] of Reuters, please.
    President Bush. It's the old reporter shuffle here.

Kosovo/Darfur

    Q. Mr. President, do you support Kosovo declaring independence from 
Serbia? And would the United States recognize it as an independent 
state?
    And, Mr. President, as head of the African Union, how do you get 
more peacekeepers into Darfur?
    President Bush. Well, first, on Kosovo, our position is that its 
status must be resolved in order for the Balkans to be stable. Secondly, 
we have strongly supported the Ahtisaari 
plan. Thirdly, we are heartened by the fact that the Kosovo Government 
has clearly proclaimed its willingness and its desire to support Serbian 
rights in Kosovo. We also believe it's in Serbia's interests to be 
aligned with Europe, and the Serbian people can know that they have a 
friend in America. Finally, the United States will continue to work with 
our allies to do the very best we can to make sure there's no violence. 
And so those are the principles going into the Kosovo issue.
    Q. But will the United States recognize it?
    President Bush. I suggest you study the Ahtisaari plan. Not to be, like, the, you know, grumpy guy.
    President Kikwete. Well, how to get--how do we get more peacekeepers 
into Darfur? Of course, what has been delaying getting more peacekeepers 
has been the lack of understanding between the U.N. and the Government 
of Sudan on the status of forces agreement. Now that one has been 
signed, I think it has cleared the way. There are many volunteers, and 
as Chair of the African Union, we certainly seek out more and more 
volunteers as they are needed. We use our good offices to see more and 
more African countries contribute. We have volunteered to contribute one 
battalion. If there is need for another one, we will certainly do that.

Note: The President's news conference began at 10:29 a.m. at the State 
House. In his remarks, he referred to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of 
Liberia; former Secretary-General Kofi Annan of the United Nations; and 
former President Martti Ahtisaari of Finland, United Nations Special 
Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Future Status

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Process for Kosovo. President Kikwete referred to John J. Danilovich, 
Chief Executive Officer, Millennium Challenge Corporation.