[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book II)]
[July 7, 2008]
[Pages 1001-1002]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Following a Meeting With G-8 Africa Outreach Representatives in 
Toyako
July 7, 2008

    President Bush. I'm really pleased to be standing with a really good 
friend of the American people and a great leader in Africa, President 
Kikwete of Tanzania. I just--first of 
all, I'd like to announce that he's coming to visit in late August. I'm 
really looking forward to having you to the White House; looking forward 
to giving you a good dinner. And we'll have a good visit.
    President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete of Tanzania. Looking forward.
    President Bush. Yes. I am--you know, one of the things that's so 
impressive about his leadership in Tanzania is that the help of the 
American people is effective help, measurable in the number of people 
whose lives are being saved; babies are being helped with malaria. I 
mean, it's just unbelievable the job you've done there. And we're 
excited to welcome you to the country. I really want the American people 
to hear firsthand how successful their generosity has been, whether it 
be on HIV/AIDS or malaria. And Tanzania is a good example. But this 
success would not have taken place without your leadership--really 
important.
    The other thing we discussed in the--we discussed a lot of issues 
with the African leaders here in the G-8, but one, of course, was 
Zimbabwe. You know, I care deeply about the people of Zimbabwe. I am 
extremely disappointed in the elections, which I labeled a sham 
election. And we, of course, listened very carefully. And, President 
Kikwete, as the head of the AU, has 
been very involved in this issue. I'm not going to put words in his 
mouth--he can express his own self--but it was--this issue of Zimbabwe 
took a fair amount of time----
    President Kikwete. It did, it did.
    President Bush. ----and rightly so. Anyway, thank you for agreeing 
to come to the States. And I'm really looking forward to having you.
    President Kikwete. President, let 
me thank you for the invitation. I'm really looking forward too. We 
enjoyed your visit there. I think I've been around for some time. I 
think one--that was one of Tanzania's biggest visits.
    President Bush. Thank you.
    President Kikwete. You saw how 
people came out into the streets to receive you. It's a measure of our 
appreciation of what the United--the people of the United States have 
done to us in Tanzania in many things. Many lives have been saved 
through that--those programs in support of malaria, for--to HIV/AIDS, 
but there are so many other programs that are building our--capacity of 
our people to measure--to marry their own development, which we highly 
appreciate.
    Well, of course, we see eye to eye on many international issues. Of 
course, we have discussed the issue of Zimbabwe, where we understand 
your concerns. But I want to assure you that the concerns that you have 
expressed are indeed the concerns of many of us in the African 
Continent. At the last summit of the African Union, many leaders 
expressed their dissatisfaction at the way things happened, but also, we 
agreed on the way forward.
    The only area that we may differ is on the way forward. You see 
differently, but for us in Africa, we see differently. But I think, 
again, there is still room for us for discussions. We are saying no 
party can govern alone in Zimbabwe, and therefore, the parties have to 
work together to come out, work together in a government, and then look 
at the future of their country together.
    So this is what we--the way we see it. I don't think that there is 
much divergence

[[Page 1002]]

there. You would have liked to see us do a bit--some things; we would 
also like to see you do some things. But we'll continue to discuss all 
these issues, and as friends at the end of the day, we'll come to an 
understanding.
    President Bush. Thank you, sir. 
Looking forward to having you in Washington.
    President Kikwete. Thank you.
    President Bush. Some of these very same people will be there yelling 
questions at you. Let's go. Thank you. Nice to see you.

Note: The President spoke at 4:12 p.m. at the Windsor Hotel Toya Resort 
and Spa.