Blair, Bush committed to Africa
2005-06-08 08:57
Washington - After weeks of wrangling over a global Africa aid policy, United States President George W Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Tuesday expressed optimism that a programme to eliminate 100% of Africa's debt could be finalised by July's G8 summit.
The two men met at the White House to work on the agenda for the G8 meeting of the wealthiest industrial countries in Gleneagles, Scotland. In his capacity as president of the summit and host, Blair is on a whirlwind global tour to boost agreements on Africa aid and reduce global warming.
Blair, in trouble at home over his support of Bush on Iraq, won recent British elections, and, if Tuesday's news conference was any measure, has successfully steered the media's focus away from Baghdad and toward Africa.
The G8 comprises the US, Britain, France, Canada, Italy, Germany, Japan, and the Russian federation.
Bush has flat-out rejected Blair's proposal to double current Africa aid by wealthy countries, to $50bn over the next three years, saying last week it "doesn't fit our budgetary process".
Different implementation
Bush favours linking debt relief to the aid process, while Blair wanted a separate new agency to handle the debt relief in addition to the doubled aid.
After they met on Tuesday, Blair said he was "pleased with progress" and Bush was confident on the 100% debt relief issue - as long as it was attached to elimination of corruption and growth of democracy and free markets in Africa.
"We ... agree that highly indebted developing countries that are on the path to reform should not be burdened by mountains of debt," Bush said. "Our countries are developing a proposal for the G8 that will eliminate 100% of that debt."
Both leaders said any plan would have to preserve "the financial integrity" of the chief creditors to Africa - the World Bank and the African Development Bank.
"We're trying to create a framework in which we deal not just with one of the issues to do with Africa, but all of them together, and deal with them on the basis of a partnership with the African leadership that's prepared to embrace the same values of democracy and freedom that we embrace," Blair said.
The G8 has had Africa high up on its agenda, but was sidetracked by global terrorism and the war in Iraq at recent meetings.
The US president disputed recent figures that Washington only gives 16 cents in aid for every 100 dollars of national income, less than half of the rate by its European colleagues, saying the US accounts for 25% of global aid.
As the disagreements between Bush and Blair emerged over the past week, US officials also pointed out that the US has tripled its donations to Africa during the Bush presidency - a fact that Bush also pointed out on Tuesday. - Sapa-DPA
- SAPA