Clinton wins pledges of water for Africa

Participants of a special session "Managing Major Media Companies in an Era of Globalisation" (from L-R) former US president Bill Clinton, Chairman and CEO of Time Warner Inc. Richard Parsons, Chairman and CEO of Sony Corp. Howard Stringer and Chairman and CEO of News Corporation Rupert Murdoch discuss communication issues at the Clinton Global Initiative forum in New York yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

Created by Clinton, the three-day confab was in full swing on Friday. Thursday's opening day of the summit -- where attending leaders are pressed for pledges to do something good for the world -- brought promises of $200 million for African economic development and to fight HIV/ Aids.

Friday's events were kicked off with a session between Israel's Vice Premier Shimon Peres and Palestinian Foreign Minister Nasser al-Kidwa, where the pair discussed the future of relations in the Middle East.

"We had a very good session on the Middle East and I've had several more people tell me they want to invest there," said Clinton, in his element in the political art of making a deal.

Clinton said he also secured a much-appreciated pledge on Friday from charity organisation World Vision to spend $20 million over five years to bring clean water to half a million people in Ghana, Mali, Niger and Ethiopia.

"There are at least 1 billion people in the world, most of them children, who never get a clear glass of water," said Clinton. "That was something that really touched me."

A four-ring circus of activity swirled through four floors of a midtown Manhattan hotel as each focus area -- poverty, religious conflict, global warming and stamping out corruption -- held concurrent workshops with political leaders and other world figures weighing in.

With 800 participants attending, Clinton held a flurry of behind-the-scenes meetings.