States visits are occasions for political pomp and pageantry, they seem to afford the opportunity for nations to re-affirm their existing relationships and develop new ones. The nature of these visits often required months of planning, sorting out logistics and security issues and when the President of the USA is involved these arrangements become even more involved.

So when Benin was added to the list of five African Nations to be visited by George Bush in his final full year as American President, the Beninoise government swung into action to make this a memorable and hitch-free visit by their august visitor.

Come the 16th of February, 2007 George Bush and Airforce One arrived at Cadjehoun International Airport Cotonou where he was met by his host President Yayi Boni of Benin, three hours later he was on his way. Yes 9000 kilometres, 11 hours and President Bush spent less time in Benin than my wife would spend on a busy Saturday afternoon at her local Hair dressing and Beauty salon.

So what was the point of such a short visit? Officially George Bush’s trip to Africa is ostensibly to highlight African success stories and one can argue that in some sense the political stability of Benin is a success story. The Benin Republic is also one of the few African companies to sign up to the Millennium Challenge Compact, an initiative championed by George Bush that ties US aid and grants to performance against a number of indicators.

All very admirable but one wonders if the US President’s discussions will look at the how the very aims of the Millennium Challenge Compact distorts trade and engenders poverty in Benin. The indicators measured under the Compact challenge include the Trade Policy Indicator which seeks to end any regime of import licences, trade quota and production subsidies in countries that sign up to the challenge.

The net result of this is that while Benin allows its cotton industry, the largest sector of the country’s economy, to be completely exposed to the vagaries of the international markets competing cotton farmers in the USA receive total annual subsidies of US$ 4 billion from the Bush administration.

One wonders why the US President didn’t find time to tour the cotton farms in the savannah lands of Northern Benin to see the devastation this unequal application of subsidies is causing.

The reality is that State visits in the main are mere political theatre providing little substance or succour and in this particular situation illustrate once again the double edge sword that the aid on which too many African countries rely is, and reinforces the message - It is about fair trade not aid.

The theatre carries on as the US President heads on to Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia.