NEWS

Details: see Invitation letter, Prospectus/Registration, Brochure
Online Booking: visit http://www.kellow-west.com
More on SIGOA-TOPS visit http://www.sigoa-tops.net

For further clarifications, do not hesitate to contact the following:

1. Romeo Barberopoulos, MFR
Chairman
E-mail:megchairman@aol.com

2. Gabriel Ekpo
Executive Secretary
E-mail exe-secretary@nigerianexporter.org,
gabrielhge@yahoo.com

3. Kemi Ilori
Managing Director/CEO
Kellow West Africa (Nigeria) Ltd
Cell: +234 805 532 2980
+234 802 310 6256
E-mail:itpf2006@yahoo.com,
olukemiilori@yahoo.com
(Event Organisers)
 

Plastic and Cardboard Packaging Companies in Nigeria: Export Opportunities
The West Africa Trade Hub (WATH) is creating a Packaging Guide for Specialty Foods Producers in West Africa. This is to help Specialty Foods Producers to buy their Packaging Inputs from the Packaging Manufacturers in the Region which shall be showcased in this Guide. Interested Plastic and Cardboard Packaging Companies in Nigeria should complete the forms below to benefit from the export opportunities. View the cover note for more details.

• Nigerian Plastic Products Form
• Nigerian Card Board Form

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MAN Blames CBN for Low Level of Industrial Growth

(posted May 18, '07)

Vanguard (Lagos)
NEWS
14 May 2007
Posted to the web 14 May 2007

By Princewill Ekwujuru
Lagos

Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has blamed the low level of growth in the manufacturing sector on the monetary policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria in the last seven years.

The Association, at the launch of the Export Trade House (ETH), said that statistic have shown that between year 2000 to 2006, the apex bank's monetary policy, as directed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and following the Paris Club debt forgiveness, created nothing short of accumulated inflationary rate of 256 percent, a rate detrimental to the manufacturing sector.

Mr. Romeo Barberopoulos, Chairman, Nexportrade Houses Limited, in a paper delivered at the launching ceremony with the sub-head "The statistics that do not say the truth", noted that, in 2006, the non-oil export sector reached about 10 percent, but all of it went to commodities and semi-finished leather, but none for the manufactured finished products.

According to him, manufacturing, as the main vehicle for technology development which drives and defuses innovation and affects all other sectors of the economy, remains the fastest growing primary sector in world trade.

He explained that the manufacturing sector, as an engine for economic growth, remains less exposed to external shock, price fluctuation and unfair competition unlike commodities and crude oil.

He pointed out that the GDP growth in 2006 went up to 8.9 percent, but five percent of it was in mobile telephony, banking and insurance, but none in the manufacturing sector.

Barberopoulos stressed that the new NEEDS 2 in 2006 showed that growth in manufacture reached nine percent, but that the Central Intelligent Agency (CIA), USA, reported that manufacturing in Nigeria increased minus one percent.

From the foregoing, he stated that NEEDS 2 had talked about an increase in agricultural products, but warned that the citizens may be more impoverished.

The chairman explained that CBN's monetary policy, as dictated by the IMF, following the Paris Club debt forgiveness, demanded that Nigeria must keep a strong naira, lower interest rates and low inflation. He noted that CBN could only, for the past seven years, kept a strong naira, but between 2000 to 2006, the inflation accumulated to 256 percent to the detriment of the manufacturing sector

Barberopoulos further pointed out that the strongest evidence is the high cost of cement with almost 100 percent local content. He said that the industry survives because of the total ban on the importation of cement, stressing that there is a proliferation of new cement factories based on the fact that this total protection creates a fake growth in the cement industry.

On establishing the ETH, the chairman said that it will create a leverage in the manufacturing sector and aid the promotion of non oil exports, an area of interest in the present administration's policy which is aimed at achieving 10 percent share of total export by 2007.

Listing objectives of ETH, he stated that it is to create export links with potential buyers throughout the world and, especially, in Africa, provide a permanent exhibition space to Nigerian exporters in other countries, provide marketing and marketing assistance, training and guidelines to exporters.

He went further to say that ETH will act as a clearing house for goods exported to ensure that proper safeguards are put in place for proper export standards.

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Launching of NEXPORTRADE HOUSES LIMITED/Press conference, 11th May 2006. (posted May 18, '07)

History was made on Friday, 11th May, 2007 in Lagos, Nigeria, when the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Nigerian Export Promotion Council [NEPC] in partnership with the nation’s Non-oil Export Stakeholders, finally launched the National Export Company known as Nexportrade Houses Limited.

This company which plans to commence similar joint venture companies in strategic ECOWAS and other African countries to fast-tract the growth of the Nigerian Non-oil Exports, has the following Shareholders at present:
1. Manufacturers Association of Nigeria Export Promotion Group
2. NACCIMA Export Action Group
3. National Association of Small Scale Industries
4. National Association of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises
5. Federation of Nigerian Exporters
6. Nigerian Export-Import Bank
7. United Bank for Africa PLC
8. ECOBANK Nigeria PLC

BENEFITS OF NEXPORTRADE HOUSES LIMITED
To the Exporters:
1. Create export links with potential buyers throughout the world and especially Africa.
2. Provide a permanent exhibition space to Nigerian exporters in other countries.
3. Undertake market research.
4. Provide marketing and marketing assistance, training, guidelines, etc, to exporters.
5. Act as a clearing house for goods exported to ensure that proper safeguards are put in place for proper export standards.
6. Warehousing of goods of Nigerian exporters.
7. Sale of goods ex-stock, on consignment.
8. Export facilitation.
9. Etc.

To the Economy:
1. Provision of export market channels for products of SMEs who cannot export individually;
2. Providing economies of scale in purchasing, marketing and distribution of exportable products;
3. Assumption of risk and provision of better financing arrangements;
4. Enhancing product development and market adaptation of SMEs products;
5. Providing backward linkages and forward integration in the economy;
6. Enhancing quality and price competitiveness;
7. Expanding the volume of export trade;
8. Generating employment, increasing income and reducing poverty;
9. Improving market and customer credibility;
10. Etc
For details on Nexportrade Houses Limited, see the Presentations of the formal Launching/Press Conference by the underlisted:

• Mrs. G. M. Sasore,
  Special Adviser to the President/CEO,
  Nigerian Export Promotion Council

• Romeo Barberopoulos MFR,
  Chairman, Nexportrade Houses Ltd

• NEXIM’S Press Statement
  on the formal launching of
  NEXPORTRADE HOUSES LIMITED

• United Bank for Africa (UBA)
  presentation on the formal launching
  of NEXPORRADE HOUSES LIMITED

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^{Renewal of Exports Pre-Shipment Inspection Contract with Messrs COBALT INTERNATIONAL SERVICES LIMITED under the Nigerian Export Supervision Scheme (NESS)... (posted: 1st Nov., 2006)}

^{The content of a circular received from the Central Bank of Nigeria dated 25th Oct. 2006 as regarding above headline reads as follows:}

^{To: ALL AUTHORIZED DEALERS AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC}

^{RENEWAL OF EXPORTS PRE-SHIPMENT INSPECTION CONTRACT WITH MESSRS COBALT INTERNATIONAL SERVICES LIMITED UNDER THE NIGERIAN EXPORT SUPERVISION SCHEME (NESS)}

^{This is to bring to the notice of all the Authorised Dealers and the General Public that the Federal Government has renewed the pre-shipment inspection of exports contract with Messrs Cobalt International Services Limited for another term of five years.}

^{Under the new contract, the 1% NESS fee has been reviewed downward to 0.5% of the FOB value of the exports inspected with effect from 1st November, 2006.}

^{The Authorised Dealer are advised to bring this information to the notice of their export customers for appropriate guidance.}

^Signed

^{O. O. AKANJI (MRS)}

^DIRECTOR

^{TRADE AND EXCHANGE DEPARTMENT}

^{Download official circular}

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AFRICA UPDATES FROM MANCHESTER TRADE - JULY 21, 2006

1. AGOA Update from AUSTR Liser
2. World Bank's Wolfowitz at Sullivan Summit
3. NEPAD Update
4. West African Caucus in US Congress
5. Sullivan Summit News

6. Others

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Invitation for Participation at the World Investment Forum Cairo, Egypt, 25th - 26th Nov. 2006. (Posted: 27 Oct 2006)

The 2006 edition of the world investment forum tagged World Investment Forum "Go East" is scheduled to hold in Cairo on the 25th and 26th of November 2006.

The event, which is expected to attract participation from over 50 countries, is being organised by the Heliopolis Business Center (HBC) in collaboration with the Arab Investors Union. It is also supported by several public and private sector institutions including ISD Bank, The Saudi Research & Publishing Corp, New Valley Governor, Alexandria Governor and the Egyptian Business Men Association among others.

The event will provide a forum especially for those seeking the following:

• New markets and clients in quest for products.

• Credible investment or trade partners to expand commerce, industry or investment.

• Reliable suppliers for providing high quality commodities & services.

Also, the organisers have made provision for the government institutions of participating countries to display their country's potential investment opportunities as well as available incentives for the benefit of the over 50 countries represented at the event.

The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, being the premier agency for investment promotion in the country, wishes to organise Nigeria's participation at the event under the Nigerian Pavilion. This involves coordinating the participation of interested parties in the country.

Cost of participation is thus:

Stand for exhibition (for those that wish to exhibit) US$ 3000

Matchmaking session with potential partner US$ 1000

These cost are exclusive of travel arrangement, accomodation and other logistics.

Therefore, you are required to indicate your interest to the Commission not later than 15th Oct., 2006. Particularly, candidates for matchmaking session are expected to forward their areas of interest in good time to enable appropriate arrangement.

For further information, please contact the undersigned or Hajja Gana Wakil on +2348037868381.

Courtesy: Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC).

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U.S. Law Enhancing Africa's Economy But More Can Be Done
USTR's Liser calls building trade capacity, completing WTO Doha round "critical"
By Charles W. Corey
usinfo.state.gov - July 17, 2006

Kenyan women from the Jisaidie Cottage Industries launch the "Colours of Life" campaign. (USAID Photo)Abuja, Nigeria -- The historic African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is helping to stimulate economic growth and investment in sub-Saharan Africa, but it is "not succeeding enough," said Florizelle Liser, assistant U.S. trade representative for Africa.

AGOA is a U.S. law that provides duty-free access to wide range of some 6,400 products -- including textiles -- into the U.S. market for African nations willing to reform their economies along free-market lines. The landmark trade legislation -- the first of its kind with Africa -- was passed by Congress in 2000 and since has been amended and renewed.  (See African Growth and Opportunity Act.)

Addressing the Leon H. Sullivan VII Summit in Abuja July 17, Liser said it is important to build on the law’s success by looking at the "supply-side constraints" that can be found on the Africa side of the equation. "They are the things that governments are doing or not doing that do not encourage trade," she said.

"Africa, as a continent, trades the least among itself of all the continents," she said. "If Africans are not exporting their products to each other, the chances are that those products that could be more competitive are not rising to the top and preparing for the global competition" that awaits Africa in the international marketplace.

"Before an African country can get good at exporting prawns to Europe and to Asia, it needs to be exporting those prawns to its neighbors in Africa. That is where your barriers to each other's trade are important," she said.

IMPORTANT TO BUILD TRADE CAPACITY, TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
Liser said there are "a number of areas that need to be looked at" with regard to supply-side constraints, like the high cost of energy and inefficient transportation due to poor roads, rail, ports and aviation. For that reason, she called trade-capacity building or aid for trade "really, really critical."

"The question of what is holding Africa back -- Is it government policies outside of Africa that are barriers to their exports … or is it something that is happening domestically within Africa that has to do with policies that are in place that impede business and trade in one way or another? -- we can look at it as a little bit of both."

Thanks to AGOA, she said, Africans now have access to the U.S. market. "Something like 98 percent of the products that Africa sends to the United States comes in duty-free, zero duty, no tariffs," she said.

Despite such penetration in the United States, she said, market access is still very important for African products going to the fastest-growing economies in the world: India, China and Brazil.

"You have duty-free access to the U.S. market, a $12 trillion market. But we still need to work on getting you duty-free access to all the other markets, including those in Asia, Latin America -- and this is where the Doha round of trade negations comes in," she said, referring to the World Trade Organization talks aimed at creating market access and reform in agriculture and expanding opportunities for manufactured goods and services.  (See USA and the WTO.)

“But even with considerable market access to the U.S.,” Liser added, "we are not seeing enough African products coming in.”

Africa's share of world trade currently stands at about 1.5 percent of all world trade, the assistant trade representative said. "That is all that Africa has," and that percentage includes oil, she added.

"If Africa could increase its share of world trade by 1 more percent, this would generate about $70 billion of new revenue for Africa and that … is about three times all of the aid that Africa gets," she told the delegates. Such a change, she said, could have a huge impact on Africa's economic growth and development.

Liser said it is important for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), governments and business people to think of ways to increase Africa's share of trade, whether its exports go to the United States or other nations.

Liser appeared on a panel that also included G.M. Sasore, from the Nigerian Production Export Council, and Nazir Karamagi, minister of trade from Tanzania. Both praised AGOA for helping to establish a closer U.S.-Africa trade and economic partnership.

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 World Bank Chief Says African Development Remains Top Priority
"Good government policy" essential, Wolfowitz tells Sullivan Summit
By Charles W. Corey
Washington File Staff Writer
http://usinfo.state.gov - July 18, 2006

Paul Wolfowitz, President of the World Bank, speaks at the 7th Leon Sullivan Summit in Abuja, Nigeria, Tuesday, July 18. (©AP/WWP)Abuja, Nigeria -- "Don't blame the people for development failure," said World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, who added that Africa remains his first development priority and stressed that government policy is an important component to successful economic development.

In a keynote address July 18 to the Leon H. Sullivan Summit VII in Abuja, Wolfowitz said, "People everywhere have talents, have energy. Most of all, almost everyone wants their children to have a better life and wants their children to escape poverty if they are living in poverty. That seems to me virtually universal.

"What is not universal is good government policy. That makes an enormous difference," he said.

Citing South Korea as an example, Wolfowitz said that country is now "one of the world's great success stories." He recalled that in 1965, when he was working on the U.S. foreign aid budget as a government employee, "you could read articles about South Korea … that said it was a hopeless basket-case ... and riddled with corruption."

Looking at South Korea now, he told the delegates, one can see that "government policy makes all the difference."

"Bad policy gets in the way of the private sector. Good policy gives the private sector, private businessmen, and private individuals the opportunity to realize the fruits of their own energy, their own creativity, their own intelligence, and in doing so, to create jobs and opportunity for other people."

Wolfowitz said sub-Saharan Africa stands in sharp contrast economically to much of the rest of the developing world.

"The last two decades in many parts of the world have been one of the most extraordinary success stories in human history in overcoming poverty." Citing World Bank statistics, Wolfowitz said some 500 million people have escaped extreme poverty, with about 300 million of those people living in China and the rest residing in other successful economies in East Asia, India and in some parts of Latin America.

"The sad part is [that] sub-Saharan Africa, so far, stands in sharp contrast. During those same 20 years," he recalled, "the number of people in extreme poverty in this part of the world doubled from 150 million to 300 million. Every other person in the sub-continent lives on less than a dollar a day," a situation he called both "stunning and disturbing." That, he said, is in spite of some $300 billion in foreign assistance to the continent annually.

It is not just low income that afflicts the region, he said, but also the plague of HIV/AIDS and malaria. One million children die of malaria each year in Africa, which means around 3,000 children a day, he added.  Wolfowitz reminded his audience that there was a time that malaria existed also in Washington and foreign diplomats serving there once received hardship pay for the assignment.  But malaria, a preventable disease, long has been eradicated in Washington, he said, and "it can be eradicated in sub-Saharan Africa.”

Wolfowitz said early in his tenure as World Bank president he met with the African governors of the bank. "What was stunning to me was one presentation after another, thoughtful, focused, to the point … centering [on] the common theme of the need to improve governance, the need to fight corruption."

The World Bank president praised anti-corruption efforts that have returned millions of dollars to public coffers. "Things have changed in Africa. They have changed dramatically," Wolfowitz said.

Wolfowitz said he chose to make Africa the destination of his first overseas trip as World Bank president. He visited Nigeria, Rwanda, Burkina Faso and South Africa. "I saw enormous energy and drive and people willing to work hard, even in the most difficult conditions."

WOLFOWITZ CITES POSITIVE GROWTH RATES
Wolfowitz mentioned that there are some 15 African countries that in the last 10 years have had sustained positive growth rates of 4 percent or more. Two of the best performers in that group -- Mozambique and Rwanda -- range between 8 percent and 10 percent economic growth annually, he said. He reminded that both countries are recovering from recent political disasters: Rwanda experienced a horrendous genocide, which claimed almost 1 million lives, and Mozambique endured a long and bloody civil war. "But with good leadership and the energy of the people, those countries have been growing," Wolfowitz said.

Citing another economic success story -- Tanzania -- he said good economic growth has a positive impact on the whole society. School enrollment in Tanzania has gone from 65 percent just a few years ago to more than 90 percent today. Similar results can be found in Mozambique, Ghana and Uganda, he added.

In addition, he said, just five years ago, there were 16 wars across Africa. Now there are six -- which are still too many -- but now 10 additional countries are enjoying peace, he said.

Wolfowitz cited a Gallup Poll of 2005 that found that Africans were the most optimistic people in the world, with 57 percent expecting this year to be better than last.

In his view, there are good reasons for this optimism: an increasingly accountable political and democratic leadership on the continent; an informed citizenry that is becoming more demanding; and the dynamism of the African private sector as well as significant increases in international support.

Wolfowitz said there are several key efforts that must continue to achieve lasting economic growth and development:  an improvement of the business environment and infrastructure; continuation of reforms now under way; a further opening of trade; and the provision of more post-conflict support.

Wolfowitz said the World Bank again is concentrating on infrastructure projects. The bank’s investment in this category, he said, has increased from $600 million to $1.5 billion in the past fiscal year and will likely reach $2.4 billion in the coming fiscal year.

The Leon H. Sullivan VII Summit in Abuja runs through July 20 and has as its theme: "Africa: A Continent of Opportunities; Building Partnerships for Success."

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Partnership Allows Africans to Plot Their Own Development
United States fully supports NEPAD framework, says official at Sullivan Summit
By Charles Corey
usinfo.state.gov - July 18, 2006

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Linda Thomas-Greenfield (Simon Barber photo)Abuja, Nigeria -- What is most important about the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is that it empowers Africans to formulate their own development vision and strategy, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield said July 18.

Speaking at the Leon H.  Sullivan VII Summit in Abuja, Thomas-Greenfield said that U.S. policy in Africa is built on two major pillars:  support of good governance through democratic and fair elections and the promotion of economic growth and trade.

"We see NEPAD as supporting that vision in Africa, but what is more important about NEPAD, is that it puts Africans in the 'driver's seat.' They are the ones that develop the strategy, develop the vision and, with NEPAD, develop an integrated approach that will help them" solve their own economic and development problems in their own way, she said.

NEPAD is a strategic framework for Africa's development that arose from a mandate given to five African nations (Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa) by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and formally adopted at the organization’s 37th summit in July 2001. It seeks to eradicate poverty, stimulate sustainable development, halt the marginalization of Africa in the global economy, and accelerate the empowerment of women.

NEPAD helps countries like the United States fine tune their development approach toward Africa, said Thomas-Greenfield.  "NEPAD is not viewed by us as an implementing agency or a recipient of aid. It is viewed as an organ that will lead African countries to … prominence" through greater economic development, she added.

Echoing Thomas-Greenfield's remarks on NEPAD was Abdelkader Messahel, Algeria's minister of cooperation, who stressed that NEPAD is built on a foundation of partnership.

Messahel, whose remarks were translated from French into English, said NEPAD is built on three distinct levels of partnership: national partnership that seeks to incorporate all the citizens in each African government; inter-African partnership that seeks to promote regional and sub-regional development projects such as roads; and international partnership with developed nations like the United States.

Africans, Messahel said, want to plot their own development strategies and NEPAD empowers them to do just that.  Africans, he added, also want to promote unity, stability, democracy and good governance, which he identified as a major component of NEPAD.

He said more than 40 countries across Africa are embracing democratic forms of government and many of the same countries are now enjoying a 5 percent annual economic growth rate -- which he directly attributed to good governance.

"Africa has a future and potential to develop and that is why we have NEPAD, which is a synergistic approach to development," he told the delegates.

A third speaker on NEPAD, Nenadi Esther Usman, the Nigerian minister of finance, linked Africa's development to its ability to attract investment capital, in terms both of money and skilled people who are technologically savvy and who can develop growing private sector economies in African countries.

"This is the only vital way to create jobs and wealth, thereby helping us to fight poverty," Usman said. "The paucity of capital, technology and human skills has rendered Africa unable to effectively fight poverty and underdevelopment," she added.

Africa's challenge, continued Usman, is to raise the level of private investment to promote development, particularly in the areas of infrastructure, technology and human resources. "The growth of private enterprise can only be sustained if African countries encourage competition…and promote public-private partnerships," she said.

One key ingredient to economic growth, she said, is competition. For example, opening Nigeria's telecom sector to competition, she said, has greatly aided the country and helped fuel economic growth. In 2000 Nigeria only had 500,000 telephone numbers or lines. Today, said Usman, thanks to the liberalization of the telecom sector there are 16 million functioning telephone numbers and Nigerians enjoy excellent cell phone service.

But during the question and answer session, a Nigerian delegate pointed out that many Nigerians cannot afford to purchase more minutes on their phones.

"The government cannot buy recharge cards," for people, Usman told him. "The government can only create an enabling environment that allows people to work" so they can earn the money to recharge their telephones. She said it is the government's job "to shrink," and thus allow the private sector to flourish.

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West African Congressional Caucus Regional Approach Touted
U.S. lawmakers, officials endorse new forum, call for greater economic ties
By Jim Fisher-Thompson
usinfo.state.gov - July 17, 2006

Representative Jeff Fortenberry (Photo file ©AP/WWP)Washington -- The recently formed West African Congressional Caucus is making a big hit among lawmakers, administration officials, businesspeople and African ambassadors, who say it is an ideal way to expand knowledge as well as economic ties between the continent and the United States.

Representative Jeff Fortenberry (Republican of Nebraska), who along with three other lawmakers cosponsored the Caucus earlier in 2006, spoke at a breakfast and strategy session held in the U.S. Capitol building July 12.

"The world is getting smaller and globalization has many connotations, some positive, some negative.  And the opportunity to partner with you to explore ways our countries can draw closer together for the higher, meaningful purposes of creating more just and prosperous societies is why we created the caucus," Fortenberry, who sits on the House International Relations Subcommittee on Africa, told the gathering.

Fortenberry's caucus audience included Congressional staffers, business representatives, U.S. officials from the U.S. Trade Representative's office, Department of Commerce and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), as well as ambassadors and representatives from six African nations.

"I think we really have a unique chance now to think about opportunities for enhanced trade, exchange of ideas, and to simply become closer now that information technology has shrunk the oceans," Fortenberry said.

Former Congressman J.C. Watts of Oklahoma, whose consulting firm advises the caucus, said, "Africa has many challenges but it also has great promise."

Participants discussed a number of issues including export/import opportunities, foreign direct investment, technology, utilities, transportation, democracy and the rule of law, including "sanctity of contracts" and transparency.

The idea behind the caucus, according to Watts, is to formulate a working plan to support a "strategic relationship between Congress, the Bush Administration and the West African countries."  The countries in the caucus are:  Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Niger, Mauritania, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Gambia, and Togo.

Greg Simpkins, chief adviser on Africa to Representative Chris Smith, chairman of the House Africa Subcommittee, told the gathering, "While the usual pattern in Congress is to have country caucuses, having a regional grouping is a very unique and forward way of doing things.  This is because the issues and challenges that face Africa in the 21st Century are regional and not country specific."

Harnessing modern technology to trade, communications, agriculture, and transportation are issues that affect the whole continent, Simpkins said.  And so, "more can be achieved regionally than individually.  This caucus will be able to hold hearings, like our committees do, and the [Congressional] members that have been assembled to lead this caucus are some very forward-thinking people."

Florizelle Liser, U.S. trade representative (USTR) for Africa, said formation of the caucus came at an opportune time because "The Bush Administration has been very focused on a whole range of issues with Africa and we recently adopted an Africa strategy, which covers everything from security to
developme
nt assistance and trade."  (See related article.)

"Having this new West African Caucus, we believe, will play a critical role in keeping America's eyes on Africa and will strengthen the U.S. relationship with the West African countries across the broad range of areas I mentioned," she said.

The caucus will have an impact, Liser said, because "Congress has played an important part in moving the U.S.-Africa trade agenda forward," especially in its passage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which has led to increased African exports to U.S. markets, thereby expanding African manufacturing and trading capabilities.

AGOA provides duty-free access to a wide range of more than 6,400 items -- including textile products -- into the U.S. market for African nations willing to reform their economies along free-market lines. The landmark trade legislation -- the first of its kind with Africa -- was passed by Congress in 2000 and has been updated and renewed since.  (See African Growth and Opportunity Act.)

"We also would not have had AGOA had it not been for the very active intervention of the African ambassadorial corps and for the support of NGOs, the church community, civil society and the private sector," Liser added.

The message, here, the official told the caucus, is that "we need to continue working together as a group to advance our [U.S.-Africa] relationship."

Senegal's Ambassador Amadou Lamine Ba, told the caucus, "Things are happening in a regional sense in Africa whether it's peace and security, good governance, development on infrastructure and agriculture -- they are all issues that are of importance to the whole continent."

Ba said a prime goal of the ambassadors in the caucus will be "to change the [sometimes negative] image of Africa" while getting a better understanding of "how Congress and the Administration works."

In turn, the diplomat pledged that "We [ambassadors] will work closely with Congress to help educate them about Africa and its possibilities."

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Africa Has Turned the Corner Economically, Nigerian Minister Says
Foreign Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala opens Sullivan Summit
By Charles W. Corey
usinfo.state.gov - July 17, 2006

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigerian minister of foreign affairs (File photo ©AP/WWP) Abuja, Nigeria -- A "new era" is under way -- Africa has "turned the corner," with more governments adopting good governance principles that promote sound political and economic development that is achieving real, measurable results across the continent.

That was the message delivered July 17 to the opening session of the Leon H. Sullivan Summit VII in Abuja by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Nigerian minister of foreign affairs.

Okonjo-Iweala, a former vice president of the World Bank, provided the delegates with a detailed readout on Africa's economic trends in an effort to correct what she called the many misperceptions about the continent.

"There is a lack of honest information about the continent. Africa struggles with a perception problem. … The continent is often portrayed as a continent of wars, disasters, poverty and corruption," she said. That image, she pointed out, distorts the honest view that there are many African countries making real economic progress.

"Today business opportunities abound on the continent," she said, because "Africa is changing," and more economic fundamentals in more African countries are improving each year, in concert with good governance and the rule of law.

"From Senegal to Kenya, from Egypt to South Africa, you will observe these emerging success stories of private-sector development and an African renaissance," which stands in "marked contrast" to Africa's past, she said.

Today, she said, most observers -- such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) -- agree that Africa has "turned the corner."

Africa currently is experiencing strong economic growth rates, with annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth averaging 5.2 percent since 2003, compared with 2.6 percent between 1998 and 2000. She attributed this progress to the adoption of real economic reforms across the continent. She added that more than half of all sub-Saharan African economies grew in excess of 4 percent over the past five years.

Both the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which has 30 member countries but none from Africa, and the IMF, Okonjo-Iweala said, are predicting a stable outlook for Africa and a growth rate above 5 percent through 2006.

While these trends are encouraging, she cautioned, 5 percent is not sufficient for the continent to produce the economic growth needed to reach its Millennium Development Goals, a set of internationally agreed to poverty-reduction, education, health, governance and development benchmarks.

Other macro-economic indicators also are improving, she said. During much of the 1990s, inflation averaged 29 percent across the continent, but since 2000, average annual inflation has declined to about 10 percent, she said.

FOREIGN RESERVES INCREASE, FOREIGN DEBT DROPS
Africa's level of foreign reserves has increased as well, she added, while foreign debts have been reduced greatly. That reduction, she said, is directly responsible for some of the economic good news that can be found on the continent, such as an improvement in the sovereign credit ratings of a number of African nations.

Debt relief has freed up much needed funds that now can be funneled into African economies to help create conditions that will further promote economic development, she said.

With all of this news, the "business climate is steadily improving" across Africa, Okonjo-Iweala said, with many African countries now adopting "one-stop" shops, where business investors can obtain necessary permits at one time in one office. She also praised the U.S. African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) for helping Africa achieve real economic growth.

AGOA provides duty-free access to a wide range of more than 6,400 items -- including textile products -- into the U.S. market for African nations willing to reform their economies along free-market lines. The landmark trade legislation -- the first of its kind with Africa -- was passed by Congress in 2000 and since has been updated and renewed.  (See African Growth and Opportunity Act.)

Overall, she said, such actions are beginning to yield good results, including a doubling of private capital flows to sub-Saharan Africa and a vast increase in remittances to the continent. She stressed that her figures are official and real and, as such, are conservative and have not been inflated.

Okonjo-Iweala called good governance the necessary ingredient for African economic development -- which she said must be done in the private sector.

"Africa is turning the corner" on political development as well, she added, with an increasing number of African countries embracing democracy and hosting elections. Since 2000, she said, more than two-thirds of all sub-Saharan African countries have held multiparty elections. "African leaders are treating the issue of good governance with all the seriousness that it deserves, recognizing that corruption and mismanagement is a factor that seriously undermines development on the continent," she said.

While problems still remain, she concluded, the "trend is towards improvement." She acknowledged that Africa currently suffers from poor infrastructure, with a lack of roads, rail and ports hampering economic growth and development, but she quickly added that this negative could be viewed as a positive investment opportunity for those who are willing take the challenge.

In closing, Okonjo-Iweala told delegates that there is upwards of $600 billion in "black capital" worldwide and expressed hope that more and more of that can be invested in Africa.

"The time is now for all of us to join hands in spurring Africa's progress" she said, from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

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Summit Promotes More Diverse, Robust U.S.-Africa Trade Ties
U.S. diplomat calls Africa a continent of "enormous potential"
By Charles W. Corey
usinfo.state.gov - July 16, 2006

Abuja, Nigeria -- The relationship between the United States and Africa is a strong one because the ties that bind America with the nations of Africa are like the many interwoven colors of a kente cloth, a colorfully patterned traditional African textile.

U.S. Chargé d'Affaires Thomas P. Furey made that point July 16 as he welcomed delegates at the Leon H. Sullivan VII Summit in Abuja, Nigeria, to the residence of U.S. Ambassador John Campbell on the eve of the summit's official opening. Furey told the delegates that Africa is a continent of "enormous potential" and, accordingly, the U.S.-African business relationship will receive much attention during the July 17-20 summit.

The 2006 summit’s theme is "Africa: A Continent of Opportunities -- Building Partnership for Success." (See related article.)

Noting that Africa is a key supplier of oil, metals and textiles to the United States and that many U.S. firms, both large and small, have business and investment ties with the continent, Furey said the U.S.-Africa trade relationship has potential to be “much more diverse and robust," adding, "You gain interest only on what you invest,” a quote from an African proverb.

"I believe that the Sullivan Summit is a step toward realizing an investment in the future of Africa," he said.

One color of the kente cloth that is represented at the summit, he told his audience, is the official government-to-government relationships reflected in the many official delegations attending the event.

"Though diplomats and embassies do the day-to-day work of managing these relationships," he said, "I believe we are all well served when other officials take the time to travel and gain a deeper understanding of the issues that confront our friends and partners overseas."

He urged delegates not to underestimate the power of personal ties between individuals across diverse national and cultural lines. "These are the ties that weave the foundation for strong friendship and understanding among nations," he said. "These are the ties that make relationships real and concrete, that shape our hearts and lives."

Furey went on to cite another African proverb: "It is not possible for one foot to create a footpath.'' Likewise, he said, it is impossible to weave a kente cloth out of just one color. "Africa can rely on the cooperation and good will of her friends to build a future of opportunity for her people," he pledged.

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young, who is a co-chair of the meeting, said the United States has benefited greatly from the depth of African intellectualism and ingenuity, noting there are more Nigerian-American engineers in the United States now than in Nigeria.

"So part of our challenge in coming back is to help Africa do what India has finally done," he said, and that is to encourage its people to learn all they can abroad, make a lot of money and then bring it home to their people. "It is our time to start bringing back to Mother Africa," he said.

BRAIN DRAIN?
Two delegates among his listeners are scheduled to address the summit on the topic of how to reverse what is often called a "brain drain" of technical and intellectual capital from the developing world. Tope Esan, director of consulting for the Statscorp Analyst firm, a U.S. company, said developing world governments must create conditions that will attract professionals to return home.

Speaking of Nigeria, Esan, who is a Nigerian-American living in the United States, said, "There is money to be made here," but the message has to get out to the right people of African descent in the world at large.

He said there are about 4 million Nigerians in the United States, many of whom rank among top African earners.  "Nigerians are making an impact in the diaspora. It is just a question of getting them back here to do some of those things that they are doing very well," he said.

Also attending the summit as a delegate and speaker is Howard Jeter, former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria.  "Reverend Sullivan always wanted to have the summit in Nigeria," Jeter told the Washington File, but, unfortunately, it did not happen during his lifetime.

Sullivan, who died in 2001, "recognized the importance of Nigeria and its centrality in Africa," Jeter said, "and that what happens in Nigeria impacts the entire continent."

The summit has as its overall theme "Africa: A Continent of Opportunities -- Building Partnerships for Success."

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Summit To Focus on Role of Private Enterprise in Africa's Growth
Former President Clinton, World Bank chief to address Leon H. Sullivan summit
By Charles W. Corey
usinfo.state.gov - July 16, 2006

Abuja, Nigeria -- A summit focusing on the role of private enterprise in enhancing Africa's long-term economic growth and development is expected to attract dignitaries from more than 30 countries -- including 15 heads of state from Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean  -- as well as Africa experts and those of African descent from all parts of the world.

The July 17-20 event in the Nigerian capital, known formally as the Leon H. Sullivan VII Summit, has as its overall theme "Africa: A Continent of Opportunities -- Building Partnership for Success."

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, who visited Abuja during his presidency, will be the summit's first keynote speaker at an opening summit luncheon on July 17, where he is expected to focus on Africa's growing role in the world economy.  Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo will host the luncheon at the presidential villa in Abuja.

Clinton sits on the board of the Sullivan Foundation, which is chairing the summit.  A host of seminars and workshops will complement Clinton's address that same day by exploring the theme "Private Enterprise: Key to Africa's Renaissance."

World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz will speak at a luncheon on July 18, when the daily theme will be "Africa's Future: People and Technologies."

Wolfowitz is expected to speak on social and economic development trends across Africa from the World Bank's perspective. Additional seminars will complement his speech: Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will speak on investing in post-conflict nations and Rwandan President Paul Kagame will speak on ways in which his country is seeking to revitalize itself in the wake of the genocide it suffered a decade ago.

Day three of the summit will explore the theme “Global Partnerships for Success,” which examines public-private partnerships in energy development and the building of partnerships across Africa by using regional partners like the Economic Community of West African States to help the continent achieve its Millennium Development goals. The summit also will explore leveraging technology to enhance Africa’s higher education goals.

The summit’s concluding sessions will start from the perspective that Africa is a continent of multiple opportunities that, if fulfilled, can help it achieve long-term economic growth and development.  The summit will be topped off by a closing gala and dinner.

U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson is leading the U.S. delegation at the summit. Other members of the delegation include John Campbell, U.S. ambassador to Nigeria; John A. Simon, executive vice president of the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation; Reverend Herbert H. Lusk II, founder and president of Stand for Africa, and Anita Smith, president of the Children’s AIDS Fund.

SUMMIT SEEKS TO EXPAND PRIVATE-SECTOR WORK IN AFRICA
The Sullivan Summit seeks to marshal resources to expand the private sector to build more economic infrastructure and transfer technologies to African nations; leverage the investment power of those of African descent in support of Africa and promote corporate social responsibility through the Global Sullivan Principles.

The objectives of the Global Sullivan Principles are to support economic, social and political justice by companies wherever they do business worldwide. The late Reverend Leon Sullivan -- founder of the Sullivan Summits -- authored the Global Sullivan Principles of Social Responsibility in 1977 while serving on the board of directors of General Motors, which at that time, was the largest employer of blacks in then apartheid-South Africa.

Reverend Sullivan was born October 16, 1922, in Charleston, West Virginia. Before his death on April 25, 2001, Sullivan received honorary degrees from more than 50 colleges and universities, authored numerous books and articles and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  He helped establish a broad array of self-help training, employment and educational organizations for African-Americans and minorities.

Working as part of Reverend Sullivan’s legacy, the Sullivan Summit seeks to create and facilitate the conditions for private-sector economic growth, connect people and technologies to support the development of a productive population, and promote international policies and business practices that assist Africa’s economic development.

The Sullivan Summit in Abuja will be the seventh such summit to be held in Africa.  President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice attended Summit VI, which also took place in Abuja, Nigeria.  President Bush pledged more than $5 million to help Reverend Sullivan’s Teachers for Africa program.

The Leon H. Sullivan Foundation credits its summits with bringing some $750 million in new investment to Africa.

"The summit is not just another conference, it's a movement of growing potential to bring new resources to the table," says Hope Masters, the president of the Sullivan Foundation.
 

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12th Nigerian Economic Summit

7th - 9th June, 2006.

At the 12th Nigerian Economic Summit (NES N12) which President Obasanjo described as "a job very well done", his Economic Adviser/CE, National Planning Commission (NPC) Dr. Osita Ogbu, disclosed that within 3 weeks, the NPC will create a special Unit to coordinate and utilise the inputs from the Organised Private Sector (OPS) in government policy formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

Dr. Ogbu encouraged the OPS to evolve a united, coherent voice that will be respected by the government.

The 3-day programme took place at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, between 7th and 9th June, 2006.

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Business Partnerships with Ghana National Chambers of Commerce.

The Secretariat has commenced discussions to create two business partnerships in Ghana:

1. MANEG and Ghana National Chamber of Commerce

2. MANEG  and Accra Chamber of Commerce

The aim is to create a unique platform for members of the respective organisations to network and do business with relative ease.

This is a fallout of our participation in the 10^th Ghana International Trade Fair, 22^nd February – 7^th March, 2006.

For more information, please contact:
E-mail: africa@weforum.org
Tel: +41 (0)22 869 1481
Fax: +41 (0)22 786 2744

Under the theme “Going for Growth€, the continent’s premier gathering of leaders in business, politics and civil society will identify priorities to sustain recent growth, engage business as an agent for change in Africa, draw lessons from best-performing states and sectors, address risks, and assess new opportunities.

Focusing on the impact of China and India and the challenges of boosting physical and social infrastructure, leaders will also address the underlying risks: 5.3% growth is inadequate to create the jobs and growth needed to turn the tide. How will differing scenarios for developments on the global stage affect the continent? And will a legacy of negative perception hinder progress?

Heads of state, top ministers and senior business leaders of African companies and multinationals active in Africa will contribute actively to the discussions.

Co-chairs
Syamal Gupta, Chairman, Tata International, India
Jim Goodnight, Chief Executive Officer, SAS, USA
Maria Ramos, Chief Executive Officer, Transnet, South Africa
Charles Soludo, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria

For more information, please contact:
E-mail: africa@weforum.org
Tel: +41 (0)22 869 1481
Fax: +41 (0)22 786 2744
--
Dr. David E. Lewis
Vice President
Manchester Trade Ltd.
International Business Advisors
1710 Rhode Island Avenue, NW - Suite 300
Washington, DC 20036
Tel 202-331-9464
Fax 202-785-0376
Email: DavidLewis@ManchesterTrade.com
http://www.manchestertrade.com/

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