PRESIDENT CLINTON VISITS MALAWI

UNCLAS LILONGWE 000612 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM OVIP MI STATE FOR AF/S, INR/AA USAID FOR AYANNA TOURE SUBJECT: PRESIDENT CLINTON VISITS MALAWI ¶1. (U) Summary: Former U.S. President William Jefferson Clinton made a four-hour visit to Malawi on July 14, meeting with President Bingu wa Mutharika and other cabinet officials. Clinton signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Clinton Hunter Development Initiative and the GOM. The project aims to provide basic inputs to three districts in Malawi in an effort to increase rural incomes and provide better rural services. Sir Tom Hunter, a wealthy Scottish businessman, is in large part financing the program. End Summary. ¶2. (U) President Clinton was greeted by President Mutharika, cabinet officials, and Ambassador Eastham at Kamuzu International Airport just after 1:00 pm. Clinton then traveled into Lilongwe to the old State Lodge to meet with Mutharika and sign the MOU. From there Clinton returned to the airport, making an unscheduled roadside stop to meet a large crowd of Malawians along the way. After arriving at the airport Clinton briefly met American Embassy staff, conducted an on-camera interview with MTV News, and left for Rwanda where the Clinton/Hunter Initiative is also establishing a program. ¶3. (U) In his remarks to the press, Clinton compared Malawi to post-WWII Arkansas, which, he said, had per capita incomes below the national average, poor agricultural production, soil erosion and deforestation, and a large percentage of the population below the poverty line. In Malawi, the Clinton Hunter Development Initiative plans to work in three districts-Chitipa to the North, Dowa in the Central region, and Neno in the South. Hunter has pledged $100 million which they plan to spend over ten years in the two countries where they are operating (Malawi and Rwanda),although there has been discussion about including one or more addition countries. ¶4. (U) Clinton brought media representatives from NBC, MTV News, the New Yorker, the New York Times, Fortune Magazine, and the Financial Times. Post also collaborated with Secret Service officials in the lead up, during, and after the visit. ¶5. (U) Comment: Clinton's short visit was the most high- profile American visit since that of Dan Quayle in 1989. As such, the GOM was delighted with the visit, and particularly impressed with the efficiency with which it was carried out. Clinton told Embassy staff that he would return to Malawi once his foundation's programs are up and running. The substance of the programs is still up in the air--while the broad objective is to enhance rural development (agriculture production, clean water and health),the specifics have yet to be worked out. End Comment. REINTSMA