President Bill Clinton's 12-day journey to Africa was the first extended visit to the world's second largest continent by a sitting American head-of-state. Traveling to Ghana, Uganda, Rwanda, South Africa, Botswana and Senegal, Clinton was accompanied by a large entourage of senior officials, aides, business representatives, and reporters and media technicians.
The President began his tour in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, where he was met by President Jerry Rawlings and an enthusiastic crowd estimated at 500,000 - the largest in Clinton's career, the White House said.
In Uganda, the President and First Lady visited a Ugandan primary school where he announced $120 million in aid to train teachers and to connect African schools to the Internet, plus additional funds to fight malaria and promote food production on the continent. In a speech, he acknowledged that Africa had been treated as a Cold War pawn and called the European American role in practicing slavery "wrong."
While in Uganda, the president took part in a summit with leaders from seven African countries in Entebbe, on the shores of Lake Victoria. They agreed in a communique on a U.S.-Africa partnership to promote human rights, democracy and stability. Participants included the presidents of Kenya, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania, the prime minister of Ethiopia and Zimbabwe's finance minister, representing the current chairman of Organization of African Unity, President Robert Mugabe.
The session followed Clinton's three-hour visit to the Rwandan capital Kigali, a visit that was restricted to the Kigali airport, due to security and logistical concerns. Clinton said the world community had reacted inadequately to the outbreak of killing in Rwanda in 1994 which resulted in more than 500,000 deaths. "The international community, together with nations in Africa, must bear its share of responsibility for this tragedy," Clinton said.
From Uganda, Clinton flew to Cape Town for a State Visit to South Africa, hosted by President Nelson Mandela. Clinton in an address to Parliament said: "America has a profound and pragmatic stake in your success." He also toured Robben Island with Mandela, who spent 18 years imprisonment there.
In Botswana, his next stop, Bill and Hillary Clinton enjoyed a two-day safari, viewing the wildlife, before the President met with environmentalists to discuss ways to preserve Africa's ecology.
On the final stop, Dakar, Senegal, the President visited the site of an environmental project and toured Goree Island, where thousands of Africans were incarcerated for shipment to America as slaves.
Below are links to allAfrica.com pages that list stories about the trip and its impact from African newspapers and news agencies, as well as official statements and press releases:
