On July 9, 2003 U.S. President George W. Bush made a plea to Mbeki to reconsider the implications of the controversial AIDS issue. Bush pledged greater funding for fighting the disease in South Africa. On September 25 Mbeki relented and rationalized governmental delays in the distribution of anti-AIDS drugs, indicating that an insufficient number of properly trained public health care workers had been available to distribute the medications.

Well-respected as a negotiator, Mbeki to his credit is recognized in particular for his efforts to appease the murderous warlords in the Congo in 2002, and in 2003 he helped to expedite the demise of President Charles Taylor from Liberia.