Bill Clinton: “Thabo Mbeki of South Africa in Cape Town March 26, 1998 President's Visit Q. Mr. President, what did you discuss, sir?…”

“Thabo Mbeki of South Africa in Cape Town March 26, 1998 President's Visit Q. Mr. President, what did you discuss, sir? President Clinton. First of all, I thanked Mr. Mbeki on behalf of the United States for the remarkable work that he and Vice President Gore have done on their Binational Commission on a whole range of issues affecting the economy, the environment, education, and a lot of our foreign policy issues. It's been a remarkable partnership, and it owes a lot to the leadership of Mr. Mbeki--a remarkable relationship. So we talked about that. We talked about some of the progress we are making in our long-term objectives for Africa. I reviewed my trip for him, talked about the declaration that the heads of government and state made yesterday in Entebbe. I pointed out that the United States has just made its first purchase--the Department of Defense has--from South Africa of a mobile demining equipment which has the interesting name of Chubby--named after me maybe. [Laughter] But it will help us a lot. We are increasing our budget this year for demining around the world, taking up these landmines. And President Mandela and South Africa have been leaders in the world of the movement to rid the world of landmines, and I think it's quite fitting that they have produced this great piece of equipment that we'll be able to use to take even more of the mines out of the land. Q. What's your impression, Mr. President, being the first American President to South Africa?…”