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President Bush and President Kikwete of Tanzania Discuss G8 Working Session
with Africa Outreach Representatives
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For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary July 7, 2008

President Bush and President Kikwete of Tanzania Discuss G8 Working Session
with Africa Outreach Representatives The Windsor Hotel Toya Resort and Spa
Toyako, Japan

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ÿÿÿÿÿ G8 Summit 2008

4:12 P.M. (Local)

PRESIDENT BUSH: I'm really pleased to be standing with a really good friend
of the American people and a great leader in Africa, President Kikwete of
Tanzania. I just -- first of all, I'd like to announce that he's coming to
visit in late August. I'm really looking forward to having you to the White
House; looking forward to giving you a good dinner. And we'll have a good
visit.

PRESIDENT KIKWETE: Looking forward.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes. One of the things that's so impressive about his
leadership in Tanzania is that the help of the American people is effective
help, measurable in the number of people whose lives are being saved,
babies are being helped with malaria. I mean, it's just unbelievable the
job you've done there. And we're excited to welcome you to the country. I
really want the American people to hear firsthand how successful their
generosity has been, whether it be on HIV/AIDS or malaria. And Tanzania is
a good example. But this success would not have taken place without your
leadership, really important.

The other thing we discussed in the -- we discussed a lot of issues with
the African leaders here in the G8, but one, of course, was Zimbabwe. You
know, I care deeply about the people of Zimbabwe. I am extremely
disappointed in the elections, which I labeled a "sham" election. And we,
of course, listened very carefully. And President Kikwete, as the head of
the AU, has been very involved in this issue. I'm not going to put words in
his mouth, he can express his own self, but it was -- this issue of
Zimbabwe took a fair amount of time --

PRESIDENT KIKWETE: It did, it did.

PRESIDENT BUSH: -- and rightly so. Anyway, thank you for agreeing to come
to the States, and I'm really looking forward to having you.

PRESIDENT KIKWETE: President, let me thank you for the invitation. I'm
really looking forward, too. We enjoyed your visit there. I think I've been
around for some time. I think one -- that was one of Tanzania's biggest
visits.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you.

PRESIDENT KIKWETE: You saw how people came out into the streets to receive
you. It's a measure of our appreciation of what the people of the United
States have done to apply assist us in many things. Many lives have been
saved through those programs in support of malaria, or to HIV/AIDS, but
there are so many other programs that are building our -- capacity of our
people to measure -- to marry their own development, which we highly
appreciate.

Well, of course we see eye-to-eye on many international issues. Of course
we have discussed the issue of Zimbabwe, where we understand your concerns.
But I want to assure you that the concerns that you have expressed are
indeed the concerns of many of us in the African continent. At the last
summit of the African Union, many leaders expressed their dissatisfaction
at the way things happened. But also we agreed on the way forward.

The only area that we may differ is on the way forward. You see
differently, but for us in Africa we see differently. But I think again,
there is still room for us for discussions. We are saying no party can
govern alone in Zimbabwe, and therefore the parties have to work together
to come up to -- to come out, work together, in a government, and then look
at the future of their country together.

So this is the way we see it. I don't think there is much, the divergence
there. You would have liked to see us do a bit -- some things, we would
have liked to see you do some things. But we'll continue to discuss all
these issues, and as friends at the end of the day we'll come to an
understanding.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you, sir. Looking forward to having you in
Washington.

PRESIDENT KIKWETE: Thank you.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Some of these very same people will be there yelling
questions there at the press conference.

END 4:17 P.M. (Local)

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