SA President Thabo Mbeki left on Monday for Washington for a two-day visit to brief US President George W. Bush on his Millennium Africa Recovery Programme (MAP) and boost bilateral ties. “The president was expected in Washington by around 7:30 in the evening,” said his representative Tasneem Carrim. Mbeki’s working visit to the United States will be followed by a trip to Germany on Wednesday. Top of the agenda in both countries will be the MAP — a regional rescue plan conceived by Mbeki and the presidents of Algeria and Nigeria — and bilateral political and economic relations. The recovery programme would oblige Africa to fight Aids, end its wars, lower investment risks, root out corruption and diversify production, Mbeki told South Africa’s parliament last week. Ndumiso Ntshinga, the foreign ministry deputy director, told journalists that Mbeki planned to ask Bush during their working lunch on Tuesday to see how the United States could get involved with the plan, which he termed a “work in progress”. Ntshinga said Mbeki’s visits, which follow a June 12-14 state visit to Britain, were part of a plan to consult leaders of developed countries for input before a final draft of MAP is put to an Organisation of African Unity (OAU) summit in Lusaka in July. – AFP