Obama backs Africa democracies

President Barack Obama pledged Friday that the United States would remain the "stalwart partner" of democracies in Africa, as he called for global aid for famine victims in the continent's parched east. Obama was speaking after talks at the White House with the leaders of four French-speaking African nations -- an unprecedented meeting for a president with close ties to the continent, and a break from the rumbling debt crisis. The US leader welcomed the new president of Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, along with Benin's President Boni Yayi, President Alpha Conde of Guinea and President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger. He praised them as "four leaders of nations that represent Africa's democratic progress, which is vital to a stable and prosperous and just Africa, but is also critical to the stability and prosperity of the world." "I emphasized that the United States has been and will continue to be a stalwart partner with them in this process of democratization and development," Obama told reporters. The talks came three months after the end of a violent post-electoral crisis that shook Ivory Coast. They mark the first meeting between Obama and Ouattara since the latter took power. An estimated 3,000 people died in the standoff after Ouattara's toppled predecessor Laurent Gbagbo refused to cede power following November elections won by Ouattara, who was finally inaugurated on May 21. The United States had unabashedly thrown its support behind Ouattara after the vote and Obama had personally contacted Gbagbo in early December to urge him to leave power, even offering to host him in the United States. The Obama administration was then quick to recognize Ouattara as Ivory Coast's new and legitimate leader. "All these leaders were elected through free and fair elections," Obama said after the talks in the White House's Cabinet Room, usually reserved for meetings of US cabinet secretaries and advisers. "They've shown extraordinary persistence... despite significant risks to their own personal safety and despite enormous challenges, most recently in Cote d'Ivoire," he added. "Africa doesn't need strongmen. Africa needs strong institutions." Obama said the leaders had discussed the devastating famine in the drought-stricken Horn of Africa, which he said had not been given "as much attention here in the United States as it deserves." "This is going to require an international response and Africa will have to be a partner to make sure that tens of thousands of people don't starve to death," the US president said. Millions are in danger of starvation due to a prolonged drought in the region. Nearly half of Somalia's 10 million people are in need of relief assistance. The United Nations on Friday raised its humanitarian aid appeal, announcing that it was now looking for $2.48 billion for 12.4 million affected people and warning the famine could spread if donors were to default. Born in the United States to a Kenyan father and a white American mother, Obama has visited sub-Saharan Africa once since he began his term two and a half years ago, taking a trip to Ghana in July 2009. During his visit, he had urged the continent to take its destiny into its own hands and fight undemocratic practices. First Lady Michelle Obama also focused on democratic progress during her June visit to South Africa and Botswana, saying the two countries could serve as models to their neighbors. In early June, President Obama received the leaders of oil-rich Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan, and Gabon, Ali Bongo, calling on them to fight corruption.