THE US: Under fire for giving too little too late to the world's poor, President Bush has said he will jump-start a multi-billion dollar aid programme for countries which combat corruption and open their markets as part of Washington's "answer to terror".
Addressing a UN conference on development in Mexico's third-largest city yesterday, Mr Bush said the first grants under the new programme could begin to flow to qualified nations over the next 12 months. When the programme was first unveiled last week, Mr Bush said poor countries would have to wait until October 2003.
Mr Bush also appealed to the world's rich nations to tear down barriers to trade, calling it the best way to help developing nations to help themselves. He held the US up as a model despite accusations by major trading partners that some of Washington's policies were protectionist.
"I'm here today to reaffirm the commitment of the United States to bring hope and opportunity to the world's poorest people," Mr Bush said.
"We fight against poverty because hope is an answer to terror. We will challenge the poverty and hopelessness and lack of education and failed governments that too often allow conditions that terrorists can seize and try to turn to their advantage."
Later yesterday, Mr Bush and the Mexican President, Mr Vicente Fox, were due to announce a border security agreement which calls for speeding traffic between the NAFTA partners while weeding out would-be terrorists and criminals. It calls for introducing "smart cards" for trusted cross-border commuters and inspecting and sealing cargo at the point of origin so it does not need to be inspected.
Earlier, Mr Bush met the French President, Mr Jacques Chirac, with the focus on the war on terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The US has offered to have the Vice President, Mr Dick Cheney, meet the Palestinian leader, Mr Yasser Arafat, if Mr Arafat carries out a ceasefire plan.
However, the White House said the conditions for a Cheney-Arafat meeting had not been met "at this point" due to continued attacks against Israel.
A key objective of Mr Bush's four-day trip to Mexico, Peru and El Salvador is to refocus US attention on Latin America, which was diverted by the September 11th attacks. Ahead of the November congressional elections, Mr Bush has been searching for ways to expand the Republican Party's base with the fastest-growing voting bloc in the United States, the Hispanic community.
Mr Bush also hopes to foster international good will by promoting his plan to boost aid to poor countries. The US is typically under fire for skimping on foreign aid.
Mr Bush's grant programme would provide $10 billion in aid from October 2003 - a 50 per cent increase in core US development assistance. Starting in late 2006, Washington would provide an extra $5 billion annually to impoverished nations which "govern justly, invest in their people and encourage economic freedom", he said