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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

SENEGAL: Bush due in Dakar on Tuesday

DAKAR, 7 July 2003 (IRIN) - United States President George Bush is expected in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, at 7:00 am GMT on Tuesday, at the start of a five-nation African tour. He will be accompanied by his family, US Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Advisor, Condoleeza Rice, officials said.

Upon arrival at the Leopold Senghor International airport, Bush is expected to be met by only five Senegalese officials led Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade. He will thereafter be driven to visit the slave gate-way island of Goree, 7 km outside Dakar.

Goree was the island where African slaves departed on a long journey in the Americas. It holds nostalgic memories for many African-Americans.

Bush will return through 17 km of closed city streets to Wade's Palace where he will hold a meeting with Wade and the Presidents of Benin, The Gambia, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Sierra Leone, before departing for South Africa.

Security around Dakar was tightened over the weekend ahead of the visit. Officials, who mounted a crack-down and arrested hundreds of suspected criminals, said Senegalese borders and airspace would be closed throughout Tuesday. The Dakar city centre will also be closed.

Contrary to Senegalese culture, no elaborate welcome ceremonies would be held at the airport and at Goree Island, officials added. Residents of the island were however concerned that they had been stopped from staging traditional welcomes for Bush.

Bush's tour will take him to South Africa, Botswana, Uganda, and Nigeria, where he will focus on his proposed US $15 billion programme to combat HIV/AIDS, trade including the Millennium Challenge Account and the fight against terrorism.

Theme(s): (IRIN) Economy, (IRIN) Other

[ENDS]

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