Bush Focuses on Africa in G8 Lead-Up

One day after urging a major increase in a U.S. program to fight AIDS, the president announced a new initiative" class="hjdict" word="initiative" target=_blank>initiative to help African entrepreneurs.

In a speech to a coalition of groups concerned with international development, Mr. Bush said the United States will provide technical assistance to help African nations strengthen their financial markets. He said the goal is to create new private equity funds that will mobilize up to a billion dollars of additional private investment in Africa.

President Bush also said he wants to make more money available for education programs in Africa and elsewhere. He said he is asking Congress to provide an additional $525 million over the next five years to bolster existing programs.

On Wednesday, Mr. Bush urged the U.S. Congress to take a major step in the fight against AIDS in Africa.

Next year, the mandate" class="hjdict" word="mandate" target=_blank>mandate for the current five-year American program to combat AIDS abroad will expire. The president said he wants Congress to extend the program for another five years and to double the funding from $15 billion for five years to $30 billion.