Blair hails 'common cause' with US

From This Is London

Tony Blair has emerged from talks with President George Bush hailing a "real and common desire" to tackle African poverty.

The Prime Minister said the international community would not fail in its duty to help lift millions of people out of poverty.

On Africa I think there is a real and common desire to help that troubled continent come out of the poverty and deprivation which so many millions of its people suffer, in a situation where literally thousands of children die from preventable diseases every day, it is our duty to act and we will," he said.

Mr Blair has promised to make tackling African poverty one of the twin pillars of his presidency of the G8 group of rich nations.

He said it was vital to increase aid to the continent. But he said money alone was not enough.

He said it must be tied to debt relief, fairer trade and tackling diseases such as HIV/Aids and malaria.

And he said it must not be a "something for nothing deal".

"We also need to make sure there is a commitment on the part of the African leadership to proper governance, to action against corruption, to making sure the aid and the resources we are prepared to commit actually go to the people that need it and do the job it is supposed to do."