Obama assures Africa it will not be sidelined

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-07-11 20:23

ACCRA: US President Barack Obama assured Africa on Saturday that it would not be sidelined from world affairs and hailed democratic Ghana as a model for other African countries.

The visit to Ghana is Obama's first to sub-Saharan Africa since taking office as the first black US president. He arrived from the summit of G8 leaders in Italy.

"We wanted to make sure to come to an African country after the G8 and after my business in Moscow to emphasise that Africa is not separate from world affairs," Obama said after meeting Ghanaian President John Atta Mills in Accra.

Obama assures Africa it will not be sidelined

A member of the security personnel is seen outside the Accra International Conference Center where US President Barack Obama will address the Ghanaian Parliament in Accra July 11, 2009. On right is a picture of Ghana's President John Atta Mills. [Agencies]

Ghana symbolises an Africa different to the old images of war, misery and corruption on the world's poorest continent. Mills was elected in a peaceful, transparent vote last December in which the former ruling party conceded power.

"We think that Ghana can be an extraordinary model for success throughout the continent," Obama said at the presidential castle in Accra that was once the seat of European slave traders.

The visit has enormous resonance for Africa because of Obama's roots as the son of Kenyan immigrant.

"We like the positive signals that this visit is sending and will continue to send," President Mills said. "This encourages us also to sustain the gains that we have made in our democratic process."

Obama pointed to Ghana's economic success as well.

Economic reforms in the cocoa and gold producing country, set to begin pumping oil next year, also helped bring unprecedented investment and growth before the impact of the global financial crisis.

Walls and utility poles were plastered with posters of side-by-side portraits of Obama and Mills and the word "change" - the mantra of Obama's presidential election campaign.

Ghanaians in bright yellow T-shirts showing Obama next to Mills hoped for a glimpse of Obama, a hero on the continent because of his roots as the son of a Kenyan immigrant. But tight security meant only a few got the chance to cheer him.

On an apartment building, a banner draped down several floors read, "Welcome President Obama." "Ghana Adores You," said a billboard featuring a picture of Obama and his wife, Michelle.

Africa has not been a top priority for an administration grappling with the global financial crisis, but Obama and other G8 leaders agreed in Italy to spend $20 billion in improving food security in poor countries.

US policy in Africa faces a growing challenge from China's push into the continent in search of resources and markets. Some governments welcome the fact that Chinese aid and investment comes without the conditions set by the West.

Obama was due to address members of parliament on Saturday before visiting Cape Coast Castle, a fort used in the transatlantic slave trade. He and his family will spend less than 24 hours in Ghana before returning to the United States.