Hosting his first state visit by an African leader, US President George Bush urged Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki on Monday to stick to the hard road of democratic and economic reform.
”Success will take time, and progress may sometimes seem uneven. Yet, the benefits of democracy and freedom and investment in people are certain and they are lasting,” Bush told a joint press conference.
”I am pleased by the willingness of the Bush administration to support our efforts to promote and sustain our economic recovery,” as well as the flow of US aid to fight the scourge of HIV/Aids, said Kibaki.
Bush and First Lady Laura Bush kicked off the public pageantry with a formal welcome, which included the playing of both national anthems and a review of US soldiers in the chilly morning air on the south grounds of the White House.
Bush called Kenya a ”vital ally” in the war on terrorism, but gave no hint about when Washington would lift travel warnings that have cost the African nation dearly in lost US tourism revenue and stoked resentment there.
During a roundtable with African journalists last week, he appeared to rule out a swift end to the ban, while stressing: ”We certainly don’t want to unnecessarily damage our friend.”
The US State Department warned US citizens against travel to Kenya in May and in late September, citing among other threats the possibility of terrorists using shoulder-fired missiles to down commercial aircraft.
The two leaders agreed to work together to help end Sudan’s civil war and Kibaki said he had asked the United States to ”increase its involvement” in peace-making in Somalia. He did not describe Bush’s response.
State Department officials later said that Secretary of State Colin Powell may travel to Kenya this month to cement a possible peace deal between the Sudanese government and southern rebels that would end their 20-year civil war.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Powell was considering the trip because of the high priority Bush places on the Sudanese peace process, talks for which resumed earlier Monday outside the Kenyan capital amid high hopes for success.
The officials stressed that no decision had yet been made on Powell’s attendance at the talks. They said the possibility had been dangled before both Khartoum and the rebels as an incentive to reach agreement as quickly as possible.
”It is in the very preliminary planning stages and may not happen, but if he does go, it would certainly be a very good use of the secretary’s time,” one official said.
Kibaki’s visit highlighted Bush’s embrace of Kenya’s push for democracy, battle against corruption, adoption of trade-driven economic growth and aid in the global war on terror as examples for the rest of the struggling continent.
The US leader, who was hosting just his fourth state visit, skipped Kenya during a trip to several African nations in July because of security concerns after a bombing of a hotel near the port city of Mombasa in November, which killed 12 Kenyans and three Israeli tourists.
In their remarks on Monday, both leaders said their nations shared the scars of terrorist attacks and Kibaki pledged unfailing devotion to democratic reforms and stamping out extremist violence.
”There can be no compromise with this evil,” Bush said.
”Kenya stands with the United States and the international community in fight against this global menace, in our conviction that no just cause can be served by taking away innocent lives,” said the visiting leader.
Kibaki’s National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) took power after scoring a resounding victory in December’s general election, ending nearly 40 years of rule by former president Daniel arap Moi’s Kenya African National Union (KANU) party, in power since independence in 1963. – Sapa-AFP