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Bush, Blair meet to pledge Africa aid
US President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair will pledge hundreds of millions of dollars on Tuesday in aid to Africa but Bush will stop short of backing Blair's more ambitious plan to lift the region out of poverty. Blair is on a one-day visit to Washington for talks with Bush that are expected to include the prime minister's initiative to boost financial aid for Africa. A Blair spokesman acknowledged before the visit began that Washington would not support Britain's plan to double aid for poor countries by issuing bonds against rich states' future budgets. But the spokesman said the two allies did agree on other ways to tackle Africa's problems. A senior White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the two leaders would announce a joint British-U.S. initiative aimed at feeding the hungry in Ethiopia, Eritrea and other African nations threatened by famine. The U.S. contribution would include $674 million -- enough to feed 14 million people -- and a significant commitment will also be made by the British, the official said. The initiative was in response to a U.N. appeal for $4 billion this year to address Africa's emergency needs. Washington has already provided nearly $1.4 billion this fiscal year. But no breakthrough was seen on Blair's request that Bush support Britain's "International Finance Facility" which would double aid for poor countries by issuing bonds against the future aid budgets of rich nations. That plan would raise $25 billion to $50 billion a year by selling bonds on global capital markets. Bush made clear his position last week, saying the proposal "doesn't fit our budgetary process." White House officials said that position remained the same ahead of the Blair meeting. British government sources are floating the idea of pressing ahead with the finance facility without U.S. involvement. Blair has staked his reputation on helping Africa during Britain's presidency of the G8 group of rich nations. He has already had talks with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and will visit the leaders of France, Germany and Russia in the run-up to next month's G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, of which he is host. Bush and Blair will also discuss debt relief for Africa as well as events in Iraq, Iran and the Middle East. The two leaders were rock-solid allies on the Iraq war and both came under strong criticism at home for basing the decision to go to war on alleged weapons of mass destruction that were never found. Blair has also pledged to address climate change at the Gleneagles summit, despite the U.S. refusal to abide by the Kyoto treaty aimed at cutting greenhouses gases believed to contribute to global warming. |
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