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He is also keen to speed up the deployment of peacekeepers to Darfur.

This is Mr Bush's second trip to Africa. Its main focus is on highlighting the success of projects to fight Aids and malaria.

After a first stop in Benin, Mr Bush is spending three days in Tanzania, on his first presidential tour of Africa since 2003.

Backing mediation

Jendayi Frazer, the Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, said the president would also discuss Chad - which repelled a recent rebel assault - and Zimbabwe in discussions with Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, the new chairman of the African Union.

He will also sign an aid package worth nearly $700 million for Tanzania.

Tanzania has taken in refugees from the tribal violence which broke out in Kenya following the disputed presidential election result.

Mr Bush is sending his Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, to Nairobi on Monday to help the peace effort led by ex-UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Senior US officials say the purpose of the trip is not to take over Kofi Annan's mediation efforts, but to back them.

After arriving in Dar es Salaam, the US president and First Lady Laura Bush were welcomed by thousands of people lining the road, which was decorated with banners saying "we cherish democracy" and "thank you for helping fight malaria and HIV".

But there have also been protests in the country by Muslims opposed to the US "war on terror".

Mr Bush said he had skipped conflict areas to highlight success stories during his six-day, five-nation visit, even though he remained committed to ending turmoil.

Democratic reform, economic and military assistance, and the fight against HIV/Aids are expected to be raised.

Legacy

Mr Bush also wants to allay concerns about a new military command he wants to base in Africa to work with African militaries to deal with trafficking or terror.

So far, Liberia is the only nation to have offered to host the US base. There are already some 1,700 US troops in Djibouti.

Mr Bush has called for urgent action over the "genocide" in Sudan's region of Darfur, where at least 200,000 people have died and two million been displaced since 2003.

In a BBC interview prior to his tour, the US president defended his decision not to send soldiers to Darfur, saying he had not wanted to deploy US troops into another Muslim country.

For a president whose foreign policy has been defined by Iraq, this visit to Africa is an opportunity to show the more compassionate side of his legacy, says the BBC's Laura Trevelyan who is travelling with Mr Bush.

America has spent $15bn (£7.5bn) fighting Aids overseas since 2003, and Mr Bush has recently asked Congress to double that amount.

More than one million people in sub-Saharan Africa have life-saving anti-retroviral drugs thanks to the policy.

However the policy has been criticised by some for focusing on encouraging people not to have sex in order to stop the spread of Aids - which critics say is unrealistic.

(BBC)

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