[…] U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Henrietta Fore expressed strong support for the command’s vital mission of contributing to military-to-military security cooperation. “We expect AFRICOM to substantially contribute to African defense sector reform and to build African partner capabilities in peacekeeping, in coastal and border security and counterrorism,” she said.

[…] South Africa’s first organic winemaker, Stellar Winery, is breaking into overseas markets with innovative food products while helping to change the face of South African business. Willem Rossouw established Stellar in the semi-arid northwestern region of South Africa, near the Namibian border, in 2003. He has put 26 percent of the ownership in the hands of the company’s workers.

[…] After long preparations, the new U.S. Africa Command that President Bush announced in February 2007 is scheduled to become fully operational October 1. On the eve of its official launch, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for African Affairs Theresa Whalen said the command — known as AFRICOM — will be the most visible element of the U.S. goal to strengthen ties with Africa through sustained engagement.

[…] The participants reiterated their steadfast support to the states represented here today in the face of any threats to their sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity. Agreeing that the peace and security of the region are critical to international peace and security, to the health of the global economy, and represent vital national interests for all, the participants resolved to continue their longstanding cooperation against such challenges and threats.

[…] In testimony September 24 before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Subcommittee on African Affairs, Moss said, “U.S. policy in Africa has emphasized helping African countries build economies that generate prosperity and create a middle class that is the bedrock of democracy.” However, that effort, he cautioned, is far from complete. “In too many countries, oil, gas and mineral wealth have instead become associated with high poverty rates, weak state institutions, corruption and war.

[…] Under the agreement, mediated by South African President Thabo Mbeki, Mugabe reportedly will relinquish some of the powers he has held since becoming president in 1980 to Tsvangirai, who heads the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which won a parliamentary majority in the country’s March 29 election. Tsvangirai will be the new prime minister.
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said September 16 that the MDC has said it supports the agreement and is comfortable with it. “Therefore we are supportive of it,” he said.

[…] President Bush praised Ghanaian President John Kufuor for his strong leadership and for active support in conflict resolution across Africa. And Bush thanked Kufuor and the nation of Ghana for participation in 11 continuing U.N. peacekeeping operations, including efforts to bring about a resolution of the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan. Kufuor was welcomed to the White House September 15 as part of a full state visit.

[…] The agreement was announced September 11 after weeks of negotiations mediated by South African President Thabo Mbeki. “Clearly … Mr. Tsvangirai is comfortable with the deal, so I would expect in the coming hours and days we’ll have an assessment of it,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters September 12. McCormack said Bush administration officials are beginning to get details of the agreement, but said he would “withhold any more definitive comment” until he thinks “we have a full understanding of it.”

[…] “I think it is no secret that President Bush has put Africa at the forefront of his foreign policy agenda,” Moss said. “I think that relations between the United States and Africa are better now than at any time in American history, and I don’t think that any administration has put more emphasis on Africa than this administration.
Clearly, Africa policy will be one of the legacies of the Bush administration — that is something that the White House and president recognize clearly and are quite proud of.”