US President George W Bush arrived in Senegal this morning on the first stop of a five-nation African trip expected to bring promises of aid and a message of hope to the continent.
The US president's plane touched down at Dakar's international airport ahead of talks with Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade and other leaders of other West African states deemed good examples of democracy in a region where war and ethnic tension has often wreaked havoc.
President Bush has chosen five countries for his visit that suggest a more hopeful and democratic future for the troubled continent.
He will hear numerous calls for him to send peacekeepers to Liberia, a country who's renewed bloodshed epitomises much of Africa's brutal and chaotic recent past.
The spectre of Aids and international terrorism will also play a large part in his talks in Senegal, South Africa, Botswana, Uganda and Nigeria.
Today he will head straight into a meeting with Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade. Senegal is one of Africa's most stable democracies, and Wade is an ally in Bush's war against terror.
Mr Bush will also hold a joint meeting with the leaders of Benin, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Sierra Leone.
Agencies