Africa's need for peace, increased foreign investment and improved access to world markets were the key themes sounded during US President Bill Clinton's six-nation tour of Africa from 23 March to 2 April. It was the first major visit to the continent by a sitting US President in 20 years, and the longest ever. As such, it drew considerable international media attention to Africa, with much of the coverage highlighting the relative economic and political successes of recent years, in contrast to the common media images of famine, conflict and decline.
"Africans are being stirred by new hopes for democracy and peace and prosperity," President Clinton affirmed during his first stop, in Ghana. What is happening on the continent, he said, is "the beginning of a new African renaissance," and he hoped that his trip would help show the people of the US "the new face of Africa."
Throughout the tour, which
also included Uganda, Rwanda, South Africa, Botswana and Senegal, Mr. Clinton
showcased the new "African Growth and Opportunity Act," which
was passed by the US House of Representatives a few weeks before the start
of the trip and will be taken up by the Senate later this year (see article
"The US-Africa bill: a new chapter?"). Within the US, critics
of the bill, including some non-governmental organizations and African-American
political figures, have proposed amendments to soften the conditionalities
that it requires of African countries.
The act's emphasis on improved trade and investment ties between the US and Africa reflects a trend that already has been increasing in recent years. Since 1994, US trade with sub-Saharan Africa has grown an average of 16.9 per cent annually. In 1997 the US sold $6.2 bn worth of goods to Africa, while imports from the continent reached $16.4 bn - although 70 per cent of this was crude oil, from just a few countries. In 1996, US direct investment in sub-Saharan Africa totaled $4.9 bn, an increase of 30 per cent from 1994.
The African leaders who met with President Clinton generally welcomed the possibility that a greater range of African exports might be able to enter US markets in the future. Some expressed skepticism, however, over the act's limited scope, pointing out that Africa's economic recovery will also require more substantial international action to alleviate the continent's crushing debt burden and to reverse the downturn in official development assistance (see article "Africa reacts to US trade bill").
Some of these concerns were reflected in a joint declaration of principles signed by President Clinton and six African presidents following a summit meeting in Entebbe, Uganda, on 25 March. In addition, the declaration stressed the importance of democracy, human rights, the resolution of conflict, and greater regional coordination to prevent another genocide, such as the one that occurred in Rwanda in 1994. Recognizing that regional stability depends on the sustainability of African democratization, the leaders endorsed "the core principles of inclusion, the rule of law, respect for human rights, the equality of all men and women, and the right of citizens to regularly elect their leaders freely and to participate fully in the decision-making which affects them."
