President Bush just wrapped up a joint press conference with Ghana’s President Kufuor to receive Ghana’s official delegation. In his remarks, President Bush pledged to begin distributing medicines to about 8 million people “as part of a new initiative to combat neglected tropical diseases,” and he reiterated his support of the Millennium Challenge Compact.

Key excerpts below, full transcript here

President Bush:

Ghana and America stand as one as we work to secure freedom from poverty. Ghana’s leaders are governing justly, fighting corruption, and investing in their people. And America is proud to support these efforts through our Millennium Challenge Compact. Together, we work with Ghana to improve agriculture and infrastructure, and support development in Ghana’s rural areas, and bring prosperity to Ghana’s people. We have worked to promote free trade as a powerful engines of prosperity for both our countries. Last year trade between Ghana and the United States was valued at more than $600 million — an increase of more than 55 percent since President Kufuor and I took office.

Ghana and America stand as one in our work to free people from illiteracy and ignorance. Through the Africa Education Initiative, Ghana and the United States have partnered to provide thousands of scholarships to girls. We’ve trained teachers. And across that important country, schools are being renovated, textbooks are being distributed, and Ghana’s children are looking toward a brighter future.

President Kufuor:

Specific acts of U.S. assistance include the following: the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which avails Ghana businesses to export duty-free and quota-free some 6,400 commodities to the United States market; the African Growth Competitiveness Initiative, which supports our capacity development in international trade; the Millennium Challenge Account, by which your government has granted Ghana $547 million to modernize and commercialize agriculture. The significance of this would be appreciated when you know that over 60 percent of Ghana’s population are rural and agricultural. The African Education Initiative, which Mrs. Bush is sponsoring by donating books and other educational resources to promote literacy among the youth of my country.