Washington, DC — Hunton & Williams, LLP will co-sponsor two workshops with General Electric at the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA)'s first annual U.S.-Africa Infrastructure Conference this week. Financiers, project developers, and African government officials will convene for the conference starting today through September 29, 2006 at the Bethesda Marriott Hotel on 5151 Pooks Hill Road in Bethesda, MD.
The CCA conference seeks to educate potential investors, and drive corporate investment in Africa's infrastructure, to support future economic growth. According to Hunton & Williams'Energy and Project Finance Partner, Robert H. Edwards, Jr., Africa needs a well-developed infrastructure before it can realize substantial economic growth and allow companies located on the continent to compete globally.
"To successfully achieve economies of scale, Africa needs many regional infrastructure projects, linking the economies of neighboring countries. Agricultural products must be efficiently transported from the growing regions to consumers and to export markets through rail, roads and transportation systems which connect neighboring countries. Power must be able to be exported from one country to another," he said.
Edwards is a speaker and the moderator of a workshop on "Managing Commercial Risk," co-hosted by Hunton & Williams and General Electric on September 28, 2006 from 3- 4 PM in the Grand Ballroom. The Firm will also co-host a workshop on "Business Practices & Transparency," on which Edward Rowe, Counsel on the International Law & Dispute Resolution Group of Hunton & Williams, will speak on efforts to improve business transparency in Africa. This workshop will take place from 4:15 to 5:15 PM on September 28, 2006 in the Grand Ballroom.
Hunton & Williams LLP provides legal services to corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals, as well as to a broad array of other entities. Since our establishment more than a century ago, Hunton & Williams has grown to 850 attorneys serving clients in 100 countries from 18 offices around the world. While our practice has a strong industry focus on energy, financial services and life sciences, the depth and breadth of our experience extends to more than 60 separate practice areas, including bankruptcy and creditors rights, commercial litigation, corporate transactions and securities law, intellectual property, international and government relations, regulatory law, products liability, and privacy and information management.
