WASHINGTON, Feb 14, 2008 (AFP) - President George W. Bush embarks Friday on a week-long trip to Africa, hoping to highlight the kinder, gentler side of US policy and "rally the continent" to end deadly violence in Kenya, aides say.
The unpopular president, widely reviled over the war in Iraq, will visit Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia on what is likely to be his final trek through Africa before leaving office in January 2009.
"The trip will be an opportunity to demonstrate America's commitment to the people of these countries and to Africa as a whole," White House National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said in a preview Thursday.
Mindful of his presidential legacy, Bush hopes to underscore how he has expanded US aid to battle HIV/AIDS and malaria; promoted democratic and free-market reforms; and worked to end thorny regional disputes.
"The trip will highlight how the United States has partnered closely with the people of Africa to address the challenges of disease, poverty and security" said Hadley. "Together, we've really made remarkable progress."
His agenda will also include US-backed efforts to end widespread violence -- which Bush has labeled genocide -- in Sudan's Darfur region, and deadly clashes in Kenya after a disputed December 27 presidential election.
Washington wants to see all parties call for an end to violence; clear the way for humanitarian aid; work out a power-sharing deal to get the government running again; and eventually hold "free and fair elections," said Hadley.
"The president will discuss with the leaders he meets with, and also try to rally the continent to put pressure on the parties for that outcome," Hadley said, calling the unrest "a step backwards" for democracy in Africa.
Bush, set to meet with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday, will also use his trip to take up the "too slow progress" on getting a joint African Union-United Nations Darfur peacekeeping force up to full strength, he said.
But "I don't think you're going to see any great breakthroughs. What you're going to see is continued effort to highlight this issue and put pressure in order to get this force deployed," said Hadley.
Bush will make the case that the United States is Africa's indispensable partner, leading the battle against AIDS and malaria, training tens of thousands of regional peacekeepers and promoting "responsible" economic development, Hadley said, in a veiled slap at China.
He coyly ducked a question about whether his words were aimed at Beijing, but insisted that investors must "look at Africa as not just a commercial opportunity, but as an area where we all have a public responsibility."
And Bush will say that the United States has met that responsibility, highlighting his call for the US Congress to double US anti-AIDS funding to 30 billion dollars over five years and signing the largest-ever Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) compact, 698 million dollars, with Tanzania.
The trip opens Saturday in Benin, where Bush will meet with President Boni Yayi, and discuss US-backed efforts to battle malaria and promote education, before heading on to Tanzania, said Hadley.
In Dar Es Salaam, Bush will hold talks Sunday with President Jakaya Kikwete on anti-AIDS efforts and sign the MCC deal, which aims to reward democratic and free market reforms with an investment in roads and other infrastructure.
Bush will also travel to Arusha Monday to tour a school, a hospital and a textile mill that makes insecticide-treated nets to thwart the mosquitoes that spread malaria.
On Tuesday, the US president and First Lady Laura Bush will travel to Rwanda and pay their respects at the Kigali Memorial Center for the 1995 genocide.
Bush reportedly scrawled "not on my watch" in the margins of a report on US failures in the face of the violence, but aides reject any ties to Washington's failure to prevent the slaughter of an estimated 200,000 people in Darfur.
Bush will also meet with President Paul Kagame and observe US-trained peacekeepers, before heading on to Ghana.
On Wednesday, Bush will hold talks with President John Kufuor, and meet with Peace Corps volunteers and Ghanaian entrepreneurs who have benefited from access to US markets under the "African Growth and Opportunity Act."
On Thursday, Bush will head to Liberia and hold talks with President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, and praise the battered country as "an emerging democracy" with an improving human rights situation.
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