Starting Point for Africa

President Clinton ended his 12-day African journey Thursday, declaring a commitment to better relations and looking back to the sorry days of the slave trade at Goree Island, Senegal. There, for more than 300 years, captive Africans were shipped off in chains to the New World, the antecedents of 30 million Americans. This link, the president said, should be a symbolic base for improved relations between the United States and the countries of an emerging Africa.

Clinton’s visit, the most ambitious journey in sub-Sahara Africa by any American president, should help form a new agenda in Washington. That will be up to the White House and Congress, and they should not miss the opportunity to build on the goodwill that Clinton engendered.

Accentuating the positives on a continent long associated with high negatives, he promoted an image of democracy and profits in Africa. “This is not charity, this is enlightened self-interest,” he said of the prospects. A good return would be an increase in trade between U.S. businesses and Africa’s potential 600 million customers, but those profits won’t materialize without substantial foreign aid, debt relief and expertise to revive and reshape African economies.

At stops in Ghana, Uganda, Rwanda, South Africa, Botswana and Senegal, Clinton promised aid and trade. To keep these promises, he will need to convince Americans, who would rather spend those dollars closer to home. Many have a sour taste concerning Africa, recalling killings of U.S. peacekeepers in Somalia in 1993.

With the exception of Rwanda, scene of a 1994 genocide, Clinton avoided major trouble spots. The political and economic crises in Nigeria, Sudan, Congo, Kenya and other nations threaten efforts to lift African societies to greater opportunity.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, heartened by Clinton’s trip, is expected to make recommendations on how to prevent conflicts in a report to the Security Council later this month. The United Nations currently is carrying out relief efforts and peacekeeping activities on the continent. In Senegal, Clinton asked more African nations to participate in crisis intervention forces. Peace and more will be needed to recharge the economic engines of Africa. Clinton’s visit can be a starting point. Private business and international agencies can increase the momentum. None should hesitate.