Bush Meets Presidents of Ghana, Mali And Senegal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush on Thursday met the presidents of Ghana, Mali and Senegal -- three West African countries that the White House views as ``gems'' of democracy and economic reform in Africa.

The U.S. president sat down for about an hour at the White House to discuss regional security, economic development and alleviating poverty with Ghana's John Kufuor, Mali's Alpha Oumar Konare and Senegal's Abdoulaye Wade.

``This is a sign of the president's commitment and interest in Africa,'' White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said of the meeting. ''Those three West African nations are real gems in Africa. They are real success stories, They are democracies. They have implemented economic reforms.''

``This meeting affirms the high regard in which United States holds these strong African democracies,'' the four presidents said in a joint statement issued after the meeting. ``Our relationship is based on shared democratic values.''

The three African leaders told reporters after their talks that they found a sympathetic ear in Bush, who promised that he would speak to the World Bank about boosting loans for infrastructure and agriculture.

A senior U.S. official said Bush had said he was willing to increase the $200 million the United States pledged to a global fund to fight AIDS once other nations had come forward.

The U.S. official, who asked not to be named, said Bush had also promised the three leaders he would encourage U.S. firms to consider investing in their nations, though he noted that such investment decisions were up to the companies themselves.

Bush did not, however, make any commitments of fresh U.S. aid or loans to the three nations.

``The purpose of this meeting with President Bush was not to get him to give contributions or declare funds,'' Konare told reporters afterwards. ``But we felt a very great understanding on the part of President Bush when it comes to what we consider our main concerns today,'' he said, citing these as energy, infrastructure, agriculture, health and security.

The three leaders gave Bush an update on Sierra Leone's decade-long civil war and described their own troops, which are involved in a United Nations (news - web sites) peacekeeping efforts in the region, as ``overextended'' and grateful for U.S. training.

The senior U.S. official said Bush had expressed a desire to help African nations undertake peacekeeping missions on the continent and a general willingness for the United States to provide training.

In their joint statement, the four also agreed to work to promote ``peace, stability and democracy in West Africa.

``The United States opposes any action that undermines legitimate, democratic rule, including coups and other direct power grabs, as well as constitutional changes orchestrated solely to promote an incumbent's hold on power or to impede an opponent,'' the statement added.

The latter reference appeared an allusion to countries like Zambia and Kenya, where there are concerns that the current leaders may seek to cling to power despite their constitutional term limits. On Wednesday, in a meeting that the White House did not publicize, Bush dropped by talks between Vice President Dick Cheney and Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi.