Article: Presidents Bush and Mbeki Discuss AIDS in White House Talks

26 June 2001

Article: Presidents Bush and Mbeki Discuss AIDS in White House Talks

U.S., South African leaders agree on need to do more against disease

By Scott Timmreck
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- President Bush and South African President Thabo Mbeki met at the White House June 26 to discuss how their two nations can continue to cooperate on the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and to further mutual interests such as conflict prevention and the growth of agricultural trade.

"We need your support and involvement in order to solve these problems," Mbeki told Bush at a pre-lunch meeting in the Oval Office. "I'm sure that this visit will help us get along."

Both Mbeki and Bush affirmed the need for additional efforts to combat HIV/AIDS as well as other devastating diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria. Bush highlighted the U.S. contribution of $200 million to the international fund established to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS, calling the epidemic in Africa "terrible" and cooperation to deal with it "an incredibly important part" of U.S.-South African relations. Bush also reiterated that the United States will do more to combat the disease, although a senior administration official did not state any specific actions the U.S. will take.

Mbeki came under criticism last year by calling for a group of scientists to verify the link between HIV and AIDS. Although he has yet to define a leadership role for South Africa regarding the disease, he agreed, along with Bush, to support the international fund.

"People must look at what we're doing in South Africa, not their perception of what they think we're doing," Mbeki said.

In their first meeting since May 2000, Bush also affirmed his support for the Millennium African Recovery Plan, an initiative established by Mbeki, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflicka and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo. The initiative calls for strategic responses to numerous African issues, including disease and conflict. Mbeki hopes to present the plan to the Organization of African Unity and to the Group of Eight leaders who meet in July.

Key to the plan's basis is the shared goal of a prosperous Africa, which the United States and South Africa previously committed to under a binational commission. Bush abolished the commission when he entered office, citing a stronger and more mature relationship with South Africa than the commission projected.

In its place will be a bilateral forum, a collection of ten working groups that will make recommendations to both governments on issues such as agriculture, defense, housing and sustainable energy. All ten working groups existed under the binational commission, but under the bilateral forum a secretariat from both the United States and South Africa will coordinate the work of the ten groups, and reports will be sent regularly to ministerial officials.

One of the working groups will focus on conflict prevention, which Bush and Mbeki touched on when they spoke of Zimbabwe, Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They also agreed to cooperate on a forward-looking approach to modern racism, including human rights abuses in Sudan.