Washington, DC — The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) today praised Secretary of State Colin Powell's visit to Sub-Saharan Africa, while urging the secretary to work for expanded trade and investment ties between the continent and the United States.
As Secretary Powell arrived in Africa, CCA President Stephen Hayes called the trip and last week's announcement that President Bush will convene a U.S./Sub-Saharan trade forum in October, "tangible examples of this administration's engagement with the continent".
Hayes pointed to Africa's growing potential as a major new economic partner for the United States. He remarked that the United States already trades more with Africa than it does with Russia, the Newly Independent States and Eastern Europe combined. "Since 1990," Hayes noted, "more than 30 African nations have held free elections and the overwhelming majority of African counties have launched economic reform programs."
"These successes" Hayes said, "mean that the time is right for the U.S. and Africa to move our economic relationship to a new level." Hayes urged the Bush administration to implement fully the African Growth and Opportunity Act and to engage African countries in opening their markets to American businesses.
Powell's trip includes stops in Mali, South Africa, Kenya and Uganda. Hayes noted that these countries have long attracted considerable interest from many U.S. companies. The United States is the leading foreign investor in South Africa. Hayes added that the continent's almost 1 billion people make it a major frontier for American companies looking for new markets.
Hayes also lauded the trip's focus on the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa. "Despite Africa's economic promise", Hayes said, "its political and economic future depends on its response to this pandemic". CCA has convened a corporate task force on HIV/AIDS in Africa to examine what American companies operating in Africa are currently doing to address the HIV/AIDS crisis. The task force will issue its findings and recommendations later this year.
CCA, established in 1992 and based in Washington, D.C., is a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) organization of more than 170 American corporations dedicated to strengthening commercial relations between the U.S. and Africa. CCA members represent nearly 85 percent of total U.S. private sector investments in Africa.
