Obama Meets African Leaders at White House

July 29, 2011

President Barack Obama meets with, from left, Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou, Benin President Boni Yayi, Guinea President Alpha Conde, and Cote d'Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, July 29, 2011

As he continues to deal with the U.S. debt crisis, President Barack Obama met on Friday with four visiting African heads of state. Obama said the leaders represent expanding democracy in Africa, and the discussions also covered issues such as counter-terrorism and famine in East Africa.

Obama's meeting with the presidents of Benin, Guinea, Niger, and Ivory Coast took place in the White House Cabinet Room rather than the Oval Office.

The president sat in the middle of the long table in the room flanked by Presidents Boni Yayi of Benin, Alpha Conde of Guinea, Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger, and Alassane Ouattara of Ivory Coast.

The talks were closed to media coverage, but in a fairly lengthy statement translated into French, Obama noted that all four men came to power through free and fair elections.

Calling democratic progress vital to a stable, prosperous and just Africa and critical to global stability, the president said each had shown persistence in the face of enormous challenges.

"Because of their fortitude and because of the determination of their people to live in democratic, free societies they have been able to arrive at a position of power that is supported by the legitimate will of their peoples and as such they can serve as effective models for the continent," Obama said.