By Prensa Latina
Cotonou : US President George W. Bush stayed for barely three hours in Benin upon beginning his tour of five African nations Saturday, without reaching any agreement to alleviate scarcity in the impoverished nation.
More than speaking about solutions to problems affecting the majority of country`s nine million inhabitants, the US president referred to the conflicts of Kenya and Darfur, where hundreds of thousands of people have died, and thousands of others have been displaced.
Analysts interpret his second African tour in seven years of government as a clear message to defend Washington’s strategic interests in the region, more than to solve endemic development problems.
The Republic of Benin is a multi-ethnic state where, according to estimates, one of two people live under the poverty level, and their subsistence chiefly depends on cotton exports and international aid.
On Monday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will begin a visit to Nairobi to join the mediation efforts and, according to Bush, “resolve its difficulties.”
Bush’ tour also includes Tanzania, for where he left today, Rwanda, Ghana, and Liberia.