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U.S. and African Business Leaders

Converge in Washington for Trade Talks

WASHINGTON, D.C. – More than 500 business and government leaders from the United States and nearly 40 African nations meet next week in Washington, D.C., to review the growing trade relationship between Africa and the U.S. 

The meeting, the Private Sector Session of the U.S. – Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum (AGOA Forum), will take place at the J.W. Marriott Hotel and the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art on December 8-9, 2003.  

AGOA, passed by the U.S. Congress in 2000, is the cornerstone of U.S. trade policy with Sub-Saharan Africa.  To date, AGOA has helped generate more than $27 billion in trade between the U.S. and Africa. 

Next week’s meeting, organized by the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) and the AGOA Steering Committee, will focus on crucial policy questions, including the future of AGOA and how to make the legislation more active in a wider number of sectors. 

CCA President Stephen Hayes described AGOA as “an unprecedented vehicle for investment in Africa, and channel for new product lines from Africa for the U.S. market."

High-level U.S. and African government participation is expected, including remarks by Donald Evans, U.S. Secretary of Commerce; Robert Zoellick, U.S. Trade Representative; Dr. Mukisa Kituyi, Minister of Trade of Kenya; Jaya Cuttaree, Minister of Trade of Mauritius; and Alan Kyerematen, Minister of Trade and Industry of Ghana.

For complete information on the 2003 AGOA Forum Private Sector Session, visit CCA’s website at africacncl.org. 

CCA, established in 1993, is a nonpartisan 501 (c) (3) membership organization of over 180 U.S. companies dedicated to strengthening the commercial relationship between the U.S. and Africa. CCA members represent nearly 85 percent of total U.S. private sector investments in Africa. CCA's website is at africacncl.org.

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