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Remarks by President
Bush and President Kikwete of Tanzania
February 17, 2008
State House
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
10:29 A.M. (L)
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.
(Applause.) 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, Madame Laura Bush, as enduring
partners for our empowerment as we struggle
to pull ourselves to prosperity and back
from backwardness and development, infested
by poverty, disease and depravation of basic
social and economic services. We welcome
you, Mr. President, as a supportive and
outstanding 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. (Applause.)
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 D.C., at the 56th
National Prayer Breakfast, the keynote
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 in 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 benefitted and are continuing to
benefit from your commitment to Africa, join
in that thunderous applause and standing
ovation. (Applause.)
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you, sir.
PRESIDENT KIKWETE: Mr. President, today
there are thousands of women and children
who 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.
(Applause.) In 2004 in Zanzibar, 40 percent
of the patients tested positive for malaria;
in 2007, only 5 percent. (Applause.) When
the blood slide is taken, 35 percent tested
positive for malaria in 2004; in 2007, only
1 percent. (Applause.)
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. (Applause.)
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 U.S. government for
agreeing with us to give the infrastructure
sector the priority it deserves. (Applause.)
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. (Applause.) 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. (Applause.)
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 owe it
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 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.
(Applause.)
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you sir. Thanks for
your very generous comments. Vipi mambo.
PRESIDENT KIKWETE: Poa. (Laughter and
applause.)
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. I really do want to extend my
thanks. (Applause.)
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. (Applause.) 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 live 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've been elected the Chairman
of the African Union; it speaks to your
leadership. (Applause.)
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. (Applause.) It will provide nearly
$700 million over five 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 an 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 for 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 five-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. (Applause.)
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 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. This is a place that had been
sorely affected by malaria. Today, as Mr.
President pointed out, the number of
infections have declined dramatically. 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 interest, 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.
The truth of the matter is, they're
obstacles to peace, 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 and applause.)
PRESIDENT KIKWETE: -- his Excellency, 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.......
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