FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 24, 2006           

CONTACT: Ilda Diffley

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Telephone: 202-263-3522

Private Sector Forum to Precede U.S.-Africa AGOA Ministerial Meeting

Washington, D.C. - The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) and its partners will convene the 2006 AGOA Private Sector Forum in Washington, D.C. on June 5, 2006.  The Private Sector Forum is designed to voice the American private sector's views on U.S.-Africa trade to key decision makers in the United States and African governments. 

The annual Ministerial meetings between the U.S. government and the 37 African countries eligible under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), will take place in Washington, D.C. from June 6-7, 2006.  A meeting of civil society groups concerned with African development will also take place parallel to the governmental meetings.

 "The significance of the AGOA Private Sector Forum preceding the Ministerial meetings, is to ensure that the private sector be heard," said Stephen Hayes, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Corporate Council on Africa (CCA).  

International development and financing experts generally concur that African nations will not reach a sufficient level of economic development without strengthening the private sector. For this reason, the theme of the ministerial meetings will be "The Private Sector and AGOA."

The AGOA Private Sector Forum will focus on sectors where U.S.-Africa trade can most easily and quickly be increased, for example: agriculture, infrastructure, manufacturing and apparel.  The forum will also emphasize project financing.

"AGOA is an excellent investment tool for U.S. businesses interested in Africa," Hayes believes.  "The fact is, the U.S. is losing market share in Africa to international competition.  It is essential that we have an honest and open dialogue about why U.S. companies have been slow to invest in Africa.  "The challenges to increased investment are the responsibility of both America and Africa."

The AGOA Private Sector Forum will address obstacles and challenges to investment as well as opportunities in Africa.  The forum will be aimed at business executives and government decision makers throughout Africa and the United States.

Businesses or individuals interested in participating in the AGOA Private Sector Forum should email inquiries to

CCA, established in 1993, is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) membership organization of nearly 200 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.

Visit CCA's website at africacncl.org.