PRETORIA, South Africa — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sought further support Friday in efforts to solve the crisis in neighboring Zimbabwe and promised to “broaden and deepen” American ties to South Africa, a continental heavyweight that the United States hopes to work with more closely.Former South African President Nelson Mandela with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton during a meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Friday.
Mrs. Clinton met with South African officials on the second stop of her fast-paced seven-nation Africa tour and spoke of how the two countries will “work together to build a global architecture of cooperation.”
But she was short on specifics, especially on the touchy subject of Zimbabwe, a nation ruled by a repressive autocrat, Robert Mugabe, whom most of the world has vilified. For months, the American government has been pressing South Africa to become more involved in Zimbabwe, which in recent years has been wracked by political killings, a cholera outbreak, economic meltdown and a crippling food shortage.
But the firmest commitment Mrs. Clinton seemed to get on Friday from her South African counterparts was a pledge to urge Mr. Mugabe to stick to his agreement to share power with the opposition.
“We promised to continue to work with the people of Zimbabwe to implement the agreement that they signed,” said South Africa’s foreign minister, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane.
Mrs. Clinton said, “We had an open, free-flowing conversation.”
The meeting took place at the presidential guest house, a Dutch-style mansion with a soaring, red-tiled roof that overlooks the green hills of Pretoria, South Africa’s administrative capital.
With Africa’s largest economy and enormous political clout on the continent, South Africa could be a crucial ally for the United States. The Bush administration tried to enlist South Africa’s help to solve African crises, like Mr. Mugabe’s oppressive rule and this year’s political turmoil in Madagascar, but often failed.
* NY Times
