U.S. President George W. Bush arrived in Benin on Saturday, kicking off a six-day trip to a continent where he enjoys high approval ratings.
Bush and first lady Laura Bush will visit five nations during their Africa tour. In addition to Benin, the Bushes also will visit Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia.
According to a recent Pew poll of 47 nations, America's popularity remains exceptionally high across Africa.
Their trip -- Bush's second to the continent and his wife's fifth -- will largely focus on the United States' aid programs, which include initiatives to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and poverty.
Ahead of the visit, Bush on Thursday called Africa a "continent of potential," and said the United States is committed to helping it develop.
"It's a place where democracy is advancing, where economies are growing, and leaders are meeting challenges with purpose and determination," Bush said at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, where he and his wife, Laura, addressed the audience.
"Across Africa, people have begun to speak of the Lazarus effect -- where communities once given up for dead are coming back to life," he said, noting that the continent has "also witnessed some of mankind's most shameful chapters -- from the evils of the slave trade to the condescension of colonialism."
He added, "Even the joy of independence, which arrived with such promise, was undermined by corruption, conflict, and disease."
The United States also announced last February its plans to establish an African military command, called Africom, which it says would help prevent war. However, on Wednesday, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said there are not expected to be any announcements concerning that program during Bush's trip.
The president also announced his intention to send U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Kenya to support efforts to reach political conciliation there.
The country erupted in ethnic violence after its December 27 presidential vote, in which incumbent President Mwai Kibaki keep his post. His opponent, Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga, blasted the results, saying the election was rigged, and he and his supporters declined to recognize the election as valid.
Violence has dropped as former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan mediates talks between the two groups.
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