Washington DC — AllAfrica.com's Charlie Cobb spoke to Susan Rice, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs about President Clinton's imminent visit to Nigeria and Tanzania
Q: What does President Clinton want to put onto the table?
A: Well, I'm obviously not going to preempt President Clinton and take words out of his mouth. His interest is in strengthening and deepening our partnership with a democratic Nigeria. I suspect that the two leaders will cover a broad range of issues: economic reform and economic policy, how to spur investment and greater growth in Nigeria - growth that will benefit a broad cross-section of Nigerian people and not just the hands of a few.
I'm certain they will talk about democracy and how to strengthen the nascent democracy inside of Nigeria both through direct assistance from the United States, which is already substantial, and through further ways of strengthening the new institutions that are just coming into their own.
They'll certainly also talk about regional issues both in the West African sub-region, including Liberia and Sierra Leone, and the whole nexus of concerns pertaining to those areas as well as international and continental issues further abroad.
So their agenda will be broad. We already have a substantive relationship with the government of Nigeria and we hope to strengthen that and deepen that, while reaching out as well, and very importantly, to the people of Nigeria.
Q: What are the priorities on that rather lengthy list of concerns and interests?
A: These are all important. We don't have the luxury of picking off one or two and ignoring the others. We have important political issues, important security issues and the challenge of the [US] President, given the complexities and breadth of this bi-lateral relationship, is to find ways of maximizing our partnership on all those dimensions.
Q: Who will accompany the President to Nigeria?
A: A number of his cabinet secretaries will join him, as well as other senior administration officials, members of the press corps. There won't be any separate private delegation. This will be a relatively short trip and while there may be a number of private sector people who will be in Nigeria at that time who may take part in a number of events, there won't be a separate delegation.
Q: Who will President Clinton meet in Nigeria?
A: Obviously he'll meet with the President of Nigeria and senior officials. He will give public remarks in a venue that will expose him to a wide range of both Nigerian officials and a cross-section of Nigerian society. He'll get out and about; see a bit of the countryside, we anticipate, as well as business figures, health, civil society activists and others.
Q: So will he go to other places besides Abuja?
A: He will be in Abuja but will get out and about in the vicinity of Abuja.
Q: What will President Clinton do in Tanzania?
A: President Clinton's time in Arusha, Tanzania will be very limited. He is there at the invitation of former President Nelson Mandela and will be there in support of the Burundi peace process and President Mandela's efforts to shepherd that peace process forward. We anticipate that he will meet with president Mandela, and of course president Mkapa of Tanzania and convey, in an appropriate public forum, his support for the effort to bring a lasting, secure peace to Burundi.
Q: The parties seem far apart. Will President Clinton be involved in negotiations?
A: The negotiations have been ongoing for years and they continue as we speak. In the short time he is there he won't be able to get involved deeply with the substance of the issues with the parties, but I don't think that was the reason for which he was invited by President Mandela. He was invited to show yet again, as we've been working on this since 1996, that the United States is committed to supporting a lasting peace; that we will make the necessary investments along with others in the international community should there be a comprehensive and solid peace achieved. And to lend his support to president Mandela's efforts and give his voice to the parties that now is the time to stop fighting, cease hostilities and come to agreement on these difficult issues.
I think it needs to be said that this is one of the most complex and intractable conflicts anywhere in the world. And the progress that President Mandela has made over less than a year in bringing the parties together is quite impressive. But there is no doubt that very difficult issues remain and that those issues would need to be resolved before there is an enduring peace.
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Q: Mr. Mandela set a deadline. Will it be met?
A: I'm not in the business of predictions. I don't think that's necessary or appropriate. All I can say to you is that the United States continues to be very supportive of President Mandela's efforts. We hope and believe a lasting peace can come to Burundi. And when it does, we want to be as supportive as possible.
Q: If we can return to Nigeria for one last question. In a briefing last week you seemed to be suggesting that in the administration's view, Nigeria is Africa's most important nation. Is that the Clinton Administration view?
A: We're not into rank ordering African countries in terms of their importance. But let me say this: obviously Nigeria is of fundamental importance to the United States. We view it as a strong partner for the United States on security issues, economic issues, political issues. We have other strong partners on the African continent but we have a great stake in the success of Nigeria's transition to stable democracy and we will use this trip to try to underscore that stake and to try to strengthen the foundations of our partnership.
