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States and Africa will henceforth be a key element of our foreign policy. A stable, just and prosperous international order can be constructed only through the cooperation of the world's most powerful nation and the nations of the great African continent.

The visitor to Africa is awed by its immensity; by the sweep of its great plains; by the magnificence of its great rivers; and by the knowledge that here is where man had his origins. The colonial stereotype of black Africa as a place devoid of history is dispelled by an awareness that modern Africa is building on the rich traditions of ancient African states: of Ghana, Mali, Kanem-Bornu, Songhay, Benin, the Zimbabwe culture, Ethiopia and others. Before and during the colonial era, most of the rest of the world was unaware of the true nature of Africa, which to outsiders remained a land of mystery well into the twentieth century. But as was so dramatically made clear within fifteen years of the Second World War, Africa's colonial period was only a brief episode in the onward movement of the peoples of this continent.

In 1880, the eminent Liberian educator Edward Blyden said: "Africa is no vast island separated by an immense ocean from other portions of the globe, and cut off throughout the ages from the men who have made and influenced the destinies of mankind. She has been closely connected, both as source and nourisher, with some of the most potent influences which have affected for good the history of the world."

Blyden's perceptive observation applies today even more than it did a century ago. At no time in history have we been more aware of the interdependence of all nations. Africa and the United States are linked by real interests and common concerns.

Politically, we share a dedication to peace, national dignity and racial justice.

America's historic identification with African aspirations is deeply rooted in the cultural heritage of

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twenty-three million black Americans -- and in the moral
sympathy of 200 million Americans. The assertion of black
nationhood in Africa has coincided with a new affirmation
of equality of opportunity and racial justice in the
United States. These developments have reinforced each
other, and have added a profound moral strength to the
bonds between us.

Economically, we each have a stake in each other's
success and development, for our interdependence can be
a vehicle for common progress. Our mutual trade is growing
rapidly; your exports are reaching the American market at
a rate approaching some six billion dollars annually.
Africa's importance to the United States as a producer of
energy and commodities is obvious. And American investment
in black Africa since its new era of independence has more
than quadrupled, to over one and a half billion dollars.
We are both aware that the prosperity of our peoples
cannot be sustained unless the global economy is equitable,
efficient and expanding.

Against this background of common interests, let me
take up with you now some of the principles of United
States policy toward Africa.

First, the United States unambiguously supports
Africa's struggle to perfect its independence. Africa did
not fight its long battle for liberation from colonial
rule only to surrender it again to external domination
that may take decades more to overcome. The United States
seeks no bloc to follow our lead, nor paramount influence
in this continent. We believe that no other country
should do so. Africans must determine their own destiny.
The new Africa must be free of great power rivalry.

African unity is therefore essential. Those who
would divide Africa -- either between governments or
between factions -- would diminish its promise, dissipate
its energies in contention, and open the way for the return
of external intervention. The end result is bound to be
domination by one outside power or division of the continent
into competing blocs. It is deeply in our common interest
that neither take place. The United States calls on all
nations to affirm the principle of African unity. It will

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not import great power conflict into Africa. It will oppose
those who seek to do so.

Second, the United States is prepared for friendly
relations with all independent African nations. We, as any
country, have our preferences among political, social, and
economic systems. But we are prepared for cooperative
relations with any government of Africa which represents
African principles or aspirations. Our concern arises only
when an African movement is exploited by outside powers for
their own ends.

In this context, let me mention Angola. The United
States holds no enmity toward any African faction or govern-
ment. Their ideology or social system is not paramount
concern to us; it is for each country to choose for itself.
We did not oppose the coming to power of FRELIMO, a Marxist
movement, in Mozambique because we considered it an essen-
tially indigenous evolution. We recognized the government
of Mozambique immediately upon independence, and we bring
no sense of acrimony to our bilateral dealings.

In the case of Angola, the United States accepted all
three Angolan nationalist groups as legitimate African
liberation movements. We regret that they were unable to
resolve their differences peacefully and without outside
military intervention. We could work with the MPLA in
Angola in the same spirit as with FRELIMO in Mozambique.
What concerns us is the presence in Angola of large foreign
forces from outside the continent. This is bound to raise
questions about that government's acceptance of non-alignment
and the principle of African self-determination. What can be
the purpose of 15,000 troupes of an external expeditionary
force now that all other foreign forces have withdrawn from
Angola? How can a government be considered African if it has
stationed on its soil a large force from Cuba?

The United States has no interest in seeing Angola remain
a focus of contention. We have no quarrel with that country.
We can deal with it in a cooperative spirit. We are willing
in principle to open discussions with the Angolan authorities
with a view toward normalizing our relations and seeking means
of cooperating -- including on economic development. We wish
Angola well as a unified and independent state. But before we
can go far down that road, we want to know Angola's intentions
with respect to the presence of foreign forces on its soil.

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Third, the United States pledges itself unambiguously on the side of majority rule, racial justice and human dignity in Southern Africa. A few days ago, in Lusaka, on behalf of President Ford, I announced a new American commitment to these goals. As part of an international effort, I put forward a concrete ten-point program. In carrying out this program, we shall work closely with the Presidents of Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia -- and with the British Government. We have also called on the South African Government to demonstrate its commitment to African purposes by working with us in bringing majority rule to Rhodesia.

Fourth, the United States will help African nations develop and strengthen their economies. Africa's development goals are widening opportunity, social progress, self-reliance. The American people have always viewed these goals with the greatest sympathy. We have demonstrated our support in bilateral programs and in our efforts to build a new era of global economic cooperation between the developed and developing nations.

Let me discuss in further detail our approach to the crucial economic challenge -- a challenge which will remain with us for the long term.

## The Economic Dimension

Africa has broken the shackles of the past and is determined to remain free. Africa is deeply engaged in the struggle to achieve racial justice. But the achievements of the past must be consolidated by the building of a prosperous tomorrow which raises the standard of living and the horizons of life for all the continent's peoples.

The task ahead is formidable -- in some parts of Africa, staggering. But Africa brings to the task great resources, vast potential and the prospect that in the future African energies will be freer to concentrate on positive goals.

Our policy toward African economic development is guided by these principles:

- **First**, Africa's development must rest on a foundation of economic security. No nation can plan its future effectively or mobilize its effort if its income is buffeted continually by external economic forces over which it has little or no influence. This is especially true in Africa, where the export earnings of many national economies depend upon global market

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conditions for a single commodity and where higher energy prices or inflation abroad can raise the price of imports to prohibitive levels.

- **Second**, Africa must have an equitable voice and role in international economic institutions and in the negotiations that shape the global economy. All nations must have a stake in the global economic system if they are to assume responsibilities for its orderly evolution. The United States strongly believes that the world economy cannot be the exclusive preserve of the richer nations. An interdependent world demands a new era of economic cooperation.

- **Third**, the world community must devote special attention to the plight of the world's poorest nations -- many of which are in Africa. In many countries the economic issue is simple human survival. And it is those very countries that have been most devastated by the massive and abrupt rise in oil prices. This has made it difficult, even impossible, to obtain modern fertilizers for expanding agricultural production, and to afford sufficient fuel for mechanization. Special account must be taken of the needs of the poorest.

Last September at the Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on economic development, the United States presented a comprehensive series of proposals for the world community to respond to the needs of developing countries on a cooperative basis. Many of these proposals have been implemented and others are moving ahead. These measures will have a direct impact on Africa. Specifically:

First, to ensure economic security, Africa can look forward to more stable export earnings as a result of our proposal to enlarge the Compensatory Finance Facility of the International Monetary Fund, to which developing countries will now have greater access. To stabilize market conditions for key raw materials, the United States has signed and submitted for Congressional approval international commodity agreements on tin and coffee. We stand ready to discuss others. And we have proposed producer-consumer forums to discuss measures to improve conditions for all key commodities.

Second, to enhance Africa's participation in the global economic system, we have reduced the barriers to African exports into the United States market by instituting a

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generalized system of tariff preferences for developing countries. We have tabled offers to reduce tariffs for tropical products which are of special interest to Africa and we are prepared to pay special attention to the interests of developing countries in the Multilateral Trade Negotiations now underway in Geneva. To foster industrialization, we intend to make an initial contribution of $15 million to the African Development Fund; and we will be working with others to set up an International Energy Institute to help developing nations devise effective energy programs of their own.

Third, to promote economic justice, American development assistance programs emphasize the poorest countries and the rural poor. We plan to contribute $200 million to the International Fund for Agricultural Development. We will provide 60% of the 10 million ton food aid target established by the World Food Conference. In addition, the IMF has approved our proposal for a Trust Fund for balance of payments assistance for poor countries.

The record is promising. But the needs of the developing world are enormous, and much work remains before us:

- We need to address the problem of the crushing international debt burden which many African countries suffer as a result of high oil prices and drastic swings in global commodity markets.

- We need satisfactory arrangements to foster the investment necessary for Africa's growth - arrangements that both respect national sovereignty and assure predictability and fair treatment for foreign investors.

- We must stimulate the flow of modern technology to Africa, to promote growth and diversify national economies.

- We need to mitigate the destructive effects of fluctuating prices for the key raw materials on which so many African economies rely.

- We must enhance the world community's capacity to respond effectively to natural disasters, like the Sahel drought, which can wreak vast tragedy on a scale of millions of people.

- And, we need to continue effective follow-up to the World Food Conference, especially to realize Africa's great potential for expanded food production.

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In a few days, at the UNCTAD Conference in Nairobi, I will present a package of American proposals which will address many of these issues. We are dedicated to continuing the cooperative spirit which was forged at the Seventh Special Session. We expect others to meet us in this same spirit -- without confrontation or unrealistic demands. In this way the momentum that has been achieved in recent months can be maintained and accelerated.

I have set forth, on the soil of Africa, concrete policies of the United States on the range of aspirations that Africa and we share -- political, moral and economic. I shall advance others before I return to America.

Our cooperation is offered freely in our common interest. On my trip, I have heard the voices of Africa, forcefully and eloquently expressed. The United States respects those voices and will respond in the spirit of the responsible and positive relationship that we seek. Africa's primary concern is for national dignity and development. The United States shares these goals but beyond them has an overriding concern for a just peace and economic progress in the world. If we are to work together, we must understand that our aims are congruent, and encourage each other through mutual respect and understanding. The American people will respond to the aspirations of friends; but they will resist pressure or continual rhetorical attacks.

If African nations describe America as inherently hostile; if the dignity and respect which should mark the dealings between mature peoples is lacking; if non-alignment comes to be defined as automatically opposing all U.S. policies, there cannot be the necessary strong public support in America for a new and mutually beneficial era of relations.

This does not mean that the United States and Africa will always agree. There will always be differences, even among the best of friends. But when we disagree, let us do so without rancor, and with an understanding of the importance of maintaining our friendship. Let us always consult early on issues which could divide us, to ensure our mutual understanding and to reflect our mutual respect. Let us make our common aims the basis for practical achievement.

My country's responsibility to maintain the global balance of stability is consistent with, and reinforces, the achievement of African independence and African unity; the external intervention, which is our concern, can only diminish African self-determination and undermine the

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integrity of the continent. Similarly, Africa's drive for
development accords with our own interest in a new era of
global economic cooperation; we seek in our own interest to
promote the interests of all nations -- producers and
consumers, developed and developing, large and small.

And so, I will return to America to convey my fresh
and deep impressions of this continent's needs and this
continent's potential and with a heightened sense of the
importance of strengthened ties between the United States
and Africa.

With respect for each other's ideals and motives, with
determination to meet the challenges of our time, we can
make African-American cooperation a model for cooperation
and progress in the world.

In the decades to come, a great drama will play itself
out on the African continent. The new Africa will take its
destiny firmly into its own hands, and will make its funda-
mental contribution to the world community.

The United States is ready to join with you as this his-
torical process unfolds. The stakes are high, the task is
immense, but success will come if we seek it together in the
service of humanity.

As we contemplate our future endeavors we can look to
our relations with Liberia as an outstanding example of
cooperation. My country is especially pleased to be
associated with President Tolbert -- a statesman and the
driving force behind the modernization and integration of
Liberian society.

Today it has been my privilege to convey to President
Tolbert President Ford's personal invitation to make a State
visit during this Bicentennial Year. His visit will further
underline the importance of our relations which have special
historic meaning for Americans.

But the truest meaning of our Bicentennial is to cele-
brate not merely our past but our future. The highest aim
of foreign policy must be to shape the course of history
according to our hopes and moral ends. The relationship
between the United States and Africa can now enter one of
its most fruitful and successful periods. It is up to us,
the peoples of Africa and America. There is so much to be
achieved.

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In this spirit of hope, I raise my glass, ladies and
gentlemen, and offer a toast:

-- to the health of President Tolbert,

-- to the historic friendship between the United
States and Liberia,

-- and to the triumphs that lie ahead of us in the
great collaboration between Africa and the United
States.