For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
July 12, 2003
President Bush Meets with President Obasanjo of Nigeria
Remarks by President Bush and President Obasanjo of Nigeria in a Photo Opportunity
Presidential Villa
Abuja, Nigeria
10:58 A.M. (Local)
PRESIDENT OBASANJO: Mr. President --
PRESIDENT BUSH: Here, I'll stand up with you.
PRESIDENT OBASANJO: Is that what you want?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Oh, absolutely. I want to be over here. (Laughter.)
PRESIDENT OBASANJO: It is, indeed, a matter of general honor and
pleasure for me to welcome you, Mr. President, to our country, Nigeria.
On behalf of all the people of Nigeria, I sincerely extend to you our
warmest greetings on this historic visit to our continent of Africa, in
general, and to Nigeria, in particular.
President has generally acknowledged that much has changed in the
world since the end of the Cold War. There's no doubt there is an
emerging new world order, with new realities of nations and people
throughout the world -- their international outlooks, seek new friends
and confirm old realities in the bid to find fresh places for global
peace, harmony and security.
In this imagined new world order, Mr. President, the rest of the
world acknowledges that the United States of America will remain a key
player, politically, economically, and militarily. Thus we appreciate
your visit to our continent as indication that Africa is to be reckoned
with in the emerging world order. We salute your visit to so many
African countries -- four of them -- and now Nigeria, in particular, as
an expression that Africa should not be sidelined, or even detached
from the -- of the emerging world order.
We, in Africa, realize the extent to which we are ultimately
responsible for our own development, and that we are the architects of
our fortune or misfortune. Nevertheless, this is also generally true
that hardly any country has transformed its fortunes without external
support from friends and well-wishers. That is why we acknowledge with
deepest appreciation the role that the United States has played and
continues to play, particularly within the G8, in supporting the vision
of the New Partnership for African Development, NEPAD. As you are well
aware, Mr. President, NEPAD is our vision, as well as our blueprint for
making our continent great.
Through the NEPAD, African leaders have made a commitment to the
African peoples and to the world to work together in developing the
continent by consolidating democracy, good governance, and implementing
such general social, economic development programs. Implicit in the
NEPAD program are all the universal values, such as democracy, human
rights, rule of law, eradication of corruption, conflict resolution,
and fight against terrorism. We are hopeful that NEPAD will strengthen
Africa's position in the emerging world order.
Here, in Nigeria, we are making bold strides to consolidate
democracy and reform our government structures, as well as the national
economy. We also have continuing and new regional responsibilities,
especially in the area of maintaining security. These areas require
global understanding, cooperation and substantial financial support.
You will agree with me that sustainable national reforms are central to
regional and global transformation and for development.
Thank you, Mr. President.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you, friend. (Applause.)
It's my honor, Mr. President, to be here as your guest. Gosh, we've
met three or four times already. You keep telling me to come to your
country -- finally made it. And I'm glad we're here. It's been a --
it's an honor.
Listen, Nigeria is a very important country on the continent of
Africa. And because of your forthrightness and your style and your
commitment, you're a very important leader on this continent. And I'm
honored to be here with you.
I appreciate very much your commitment to trade and markets, and we
look forward to being an active trading partner with Nigeria. I
appreciate your commitment to regional peace, and we will work with
Nigeria and ECOWAS on issues such as Liberia. I appreciate very much
your focus on education, and the United States stands ready to help.
But most of all, Mr. President, I appreciate your honesty and
openness and forthrightness when it comes to battling the pandemic of
AIDS. You're truly an international leader on this issue. And the
United States of America, when Congress acts, will stand side-by-side
with leaders such as yourself to fight the pandemic of AIDS to save
lives.
So, Mr. President, it's an honor to be here. I've been looking
forward to this visit for a long time. I appreciate your leadership,
and I appreciate your friendship. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
Q Mr. President, do you have faith in your CIA Director?
PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes, I do, absolutely. I've got confidence in
George Tenet; I've got confidence in the men and women who work at the
CIA. And I continue to -- I look forward to working with them and -- as
we win this war on terror.
Q Mr. President --
MR. DICKENS: Thank you, all. Thank you.
Q Is the matter over then?
Q Mr. Bush, what about --
Q Do you consider the matter over, sir, that --
PRESIDENT BUSH: I do.
Q What about Liberia? Is America sending troops to Liberia?
PRESIDENT BUSH: The President and I just talked about Liberia, and
we are -- our assessment teams are still in place. We need to know
exactly what is necessary to achieve our objectives. The first
objective, of course, is for Mr. Taylor to leave the country, which he
said he is -- do. And I want to thank the President for his leadership
on that issue. It's been a tough issue, but he's led. And the world is
grateful for that.
Secondly, we've got a commitment to the cease-fire. And therefore,
we need to know exactly what it means to keep the cease-fire in place.
Thirdly, we got a commitment to relieve human suffering, and we need to
know what that has required. And so we're still in the process of
assessing. And I told the President we would be active. And the
definition of that will be made known when we're -- when we understand
all the parameters.
Q See a decision next week, sir?
MR. DICKENS: Thank you, all, very much. Thank you --
PRESIDENT BUSH: I'm not sure yet when, Randy.
MR. DICKENS: Pool, let's go.
Q Thank you, sir.
PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you.
END 11:05 A.M. (Local)
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