Yaounde - Pope Benedict XVI arriving Tuesday in Cameroon for his first visit to Africa as pontiff, recalled how in the past the continent's people were "cruelly uprooted and traded overseas".

And the pontiff denounced how human trafficking "especially of defenceless women and children has become a new form of slavery".

He made the remarks during a speech at Nsimalen airport in the capital Yaounde where he received a warm welcome from Cameroon President Paul Biya.

The pontiff was greeted in a ceremony which included a brass band and hundreds of children waving flags.

"I want you to know how pleased I am to be here with you on African soil, for the first time since my election to the See of Peter," the German-born pontiff said speaking in French.

"I come to you as a pastor, I come to confirm my brothers and sisters in the faith," Benedict said.

"All of Cameroon welcomes you with joy," Biya told the pontiff.

The president was accompanied by First Lady Chantal Biya who in honour of Benedict wore an elaborate headscarf decorated with crosses.

During his six-day stay in Africa, Benedict is also scheduled to visit Angola beginning on Friday. He plans to return to Rome on March 23.

In his speech Tuesday the pontiff said he was bringing a word of "hope and comfort" which people in Africa and elsewhere "long to hear."

"At a time of global food shortages, financial turmoil, and disturbing patterns of climate change, Africa suffers disproportionately," Benedict said.

Earlier during his flight from Rome, the pontiff reiterated the Catholic Church's controversial stance against condoms saying they were not a solution to Africa's AIDS problems.

AIDS "is a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems," the pontiff said.

Benedict also appealed for international solidarity with Africa, describing the continent as particularly vulnerable to the current global economic downturn.

"This economic crisis is the product of a deficit in ethics," Benedict told reporters on the plane.

During his trip, Benedict is set to meet with political and church leaders, lead young Catholics in prayer at two mass rallies and visit charities.

The late Pope John Paul II visited Africa 16 times. That was more visits than he made to any other continent.

In contrast, Benedict's only visit to the continent where the Catholic Church is growing the fastest, was as a cardinal, to the Congolese capital Kinshasa in 1987.

Benedict has said that during the trip he intends to stress the role of the church in "reconciliation, justice and peace".

He also plans to prepare for the second synod of African bishops, a gathering to be held in Rome in the autumn, by delivering in Cameroon a document to bishops from across the continent.