Mbeki, Bush back trade talks
11 December 2006
South African President Thabo Mbeki and US President George Bush have called for a revival of the stalled Doha round of World Trade Organisation (WTO) trade negotiations, and for a strengthened United Nations peacekeeping force in the troubled Darfur region of Sudan.
'I believe in trade': Bush
The Doha round - a set of negotiations under the WTO aimed at making trade rules fairer for developing countries - was high on the agenda when Mbeki and Bush met for brief talks in Washington on Friday.
The global trade talks stalled earlier this year, with rich and poor countries in disagreement over what concessions were needed in cutting subsidies, tariffs and other barriers to commerce.
Speaking at a press conference after their meeting on Friday, Bush said that he and Mbeki recognized "that trade will lift more people out of poverty than any other mechanism. And I told [Mbeki] I am committed to the [Doha] round. I believe in trade. And I believe in the necessity of trade. And so we'll work to see if we can't get that issue solved."
Mbeki said he was "reassured" by Bush's expressed commitment to the success of the WTO negotiations. "It's a very important part, in terms of addressing the agenda of the poor of the world," Mbeki said. "We need these market access issues addressed."
Darfur: 'time for action'
Mbeki and Bush also called for a strengthened United Nations peacekeeping force in the troubled Darfur region of Sudan.
According to Associated Press, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has refused to allow UN troops to bolster the African peacekeeping force in Darfur, where three years of fighting between rebel forces and government-backed militiamen have displaced 2.5-million people and killed more than 200 000.
Bush said that he and Mbeki agreed that the situation in Darfur was "dire" and that "now is the time for action."
He said the two leaders had discussed "the need for South Africa and the United States and other nations to work with the Sudanese government to enable a peacekeeping force into that country to facilitate aid and save lives."
Mbeki said an increased deployment of troops in Darfur was "very urgent, very necessary," adding that South Africa would "do everything to make sure that, from the African side, we remove any obstacle there might be to such bigger deployment in Darfur."
Bush described US-South African relations as "strong and good and necessary," adding that he and Mbeki had talked about South Africa's "commitment to fighting HIV/Aids and our willingness to provide over $600-million to the folks in South Africa to help deal with this terrible pandemic."
SouthAfrica.info reporter
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