President Barack Obama made the last stop of his three nation African tour on Monday when he arrived in Tanzania and gave a speech declaring a new era in U.S. relations with the continent, according to the Boston Globe.
President Obama said that he would like to see relations between the U.S. and Africa change from being primarily based on charitable aid to a partnership not unlike that seen between the U.S. and European countries.
"We are looking at a new model that's based not just on aid and assistance, but on trade and partnership," President Obama said. "Ultimately, the goal here is for Africa to build Africa for Africans. And our job is to be a partner in that process."
President Obama is not the only man who has lived in the White House currently in Tanzania's largest city Dar es Salaam, former President George W. Bush is also there to attend a conference on African women for the Bush Foundation. The two will meet and participate in a wreath-laying ceremony to commemorate the 1998 terrorist bombing of the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday, according to the Washington Post.
"I think this is one of his crowning achievements," President Obama said of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief created by Former President Bush. "Because of the commitment of the Bush administration and the American people, millions of lives have been saved."
President Obama was warmly welcomed to the country that shares a border with his father's homeland of Kenya. The streets of Dar es Salaam were packed with people as the President's motorcade drove down a road that has been permanently renamed "Barack Obama Drive," according to the Associated Press.
"I feel a special connection to this country," President Obama said. "I want to ensure you that love is reciprocated and given back in return."
Janeth Leonard, 28, told USA Today what it meant to see the American president visit her country.
"I am very happy to see President Obama, it has been my dream since he got into power because he's such a charismatic person," Leonard said. "And it was so good to see him dancing alongside President Kikwete."
While in Tanzania President Obama discussed a trade partnership that would look to ease trade between eastern African countries and the U.S. and ultimately increase exports to the U.S. by 40 percent, according to the Associated Press.
