[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 3 (Monday, January 20, 2003)]
[Pages 70-71]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Videotape Remarks to the African Growth and Opportunity Act Forum

 January 15, 2003

    Thank you very much. And thank you, Ambassador Zoellick, for leading 
the United States delegation to this historic gathering. And thanks to 
the other U.S. Government officials, including Sam Bodman, Andrew 
Natsios, and others, for attending this forum.
    I also thank you all for the honor of addressing this important 
meeting. I'm disappointed I'm not able to join you in person. I still 
look forward to visiting Africa later this year. I'm grateful to Prime 
Minister Jugnauth for hosting this forum. And to all the ministers and 
delegates and guests from our fellow AGOA nations, I extend the good 
wishes of the American people.
    All of us share a common vision for the future of Africa. We look to 
the day when prosperity for Africa is built through trade and markets. 
We see a continent at peace, where the people of Africa obtain education 
and medical care and live in freedom. And we're making great progress, 
as shown by last month's free elections in Kenya.
    Yet fulfilling this vision is the work of many years. It will 
require hard effort and true leadership and a rejection of some old 
ways. And in this great work, you will always have a partner in the 
United States.
    Every nation that seeks peace faces a common enemy today in global 
terror. The recent attacks in Mombasa remind us that Africa is on the 
frontlines of the war against terror. All our citizens know the awful 
price of terror, and we will not rest until we have defeated terrorism 
in all its forms.
    In this struggle, my country is grateful for the crucial support and 
friendship we have received from the nations of Africa. You've stood 
with us against a deadly threat. And we will stand with you to help 
bring an end to the terrible regional conflicts that bring so much 
suffering to innocent Africans, from Congo to Sudan to the Ivory Coast.
    Safety from violence is the most basic condition of better lives for 
the people of Africa. And now and in years to come, we will continue 
working to expand trade between America and the African Continent. AGOA 
shows the power of trade to lift people out of poverty. Exports from 
AGOA nations to the United States are rising dramatically, and the 
benefits are felt throughout the region. From Mauritius to Mali, AGOA is 
helping to reform old economies, creating new incentives for good 
governance and offering new hope for millions of Africans.
    America is committed to building on the great success of AGOA. One 
important way we can do this is to give business the confidence to 
invest in Africa, knowing the law's benefits will continue long into the 
future. Therefore, I'm pleased to announce that I will ask the United 
States Congress to extend AGOA beyond 2008.
    My administration strongly supported the AGOA II improvements, which 
are now helping African companies to sharply increase exports to the 
United States. As promised at the last AGOA meeting in Washington, the 
United States has opened offices in Botswana and Kenya and Ghana to 
ensure that African businesses can take advantage of new opportunities 
to sell goods abroad. Entrepreneurs in Africa often face difficulty 
complying with trade regulations and standards, and these offices are 
there to provide help. To assist African farmers in selling abroad, soon 
we will assign U.S. agricultural officials to each of these regional 
offices.
    America is also working toward a free trade agreement with the 
Southern African Customs Union. Reaching that agreement involves complex 
and costly negotiations. To speed up those negotiations, my country will 
provide technical assistance to members of the Southern African Customs 
Union.
    Wider trade is essential to economic growth, but our work does not 
end there. Many countries also need assistance to help spare their 
peoples from the extremes of poverty and disease. We are sending 1 
million metric tons of food to help feed the 30 million people in 
southern Africa and the Horn facing starvation, and we are urging other 
nations to join us in meeting this urgent need.
    The United States will also continue to lead the world in providing 
the resources to defeat HIV/AIDS. In addition, we have pledged to help 
poor countries get access to the emergency life-saving drugs they need 
to fight HIV/AIDS and other infectious epidemics. The AIDS pandemic has 
caused

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extraordinary loss and suffering across your continent and the world, 
and all governments have a moral obligation to confront it.
    To help promote economic progress in Africa and elsewhere, the next 
budget I submit to Congress will include a 50-percent increase in our 
development assistance over the next 3 years. Money from our new 
Millennium Challenge Account will be directed to nations that encourage 
economic freedom, root out corruption, and respect the rights of their 
people. Through the New Partnership for African Development, many 
leaders across the continent have pledged their governments to these 
fundamental principles.
    America has also created a special African Millennium Fund, 
administered by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Through 
this fund, we will support the construction of roads and bridges, 
canals, and other basic infrastructure that help make economic growth 
possible.
    Africa's future depends as well on good teachers and schools and a 
chance for every child to study and learn, so America is devoting an 
additional $200 million over 5 years to improve basic education and 
teacher training in Africa. Thanks to the leadership of Andrew Natsios, 
Administrator of our Agency of International Development, we have also 
created the Books for a Better Tomorrow program. This public/private 
effort will, in the weeks to come, deliver $30 million worth of books 
and other school supplies to Africa.
    For many years, America and the world looked to the continent of 
Africa and saw only its problems. That era has passed. In this new 
century, the world is beginning to see the great potential of Africa and 
the goodness of its people.
    Many of you gathered this week in Mauritius have helped to bring 
about this change. I share your confidence in Africa's future and in 
Africa's new generation of leaders. I pledge to you the friendship and 
support of the United States of America.
    Thank you very much, and may God bless you all.

Note: The President's remarks were videotaped at approximately 4 p.m. on 
January 13 in the Library at the White House for later transmission to 
the forum meeting in Port Louis, Mauritius. The transcript was released 
by the Office of the Press Secretary on January 15. In his remarks, the 
President referred to Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth of Mauritius.