Washington, D.C. — Panelists to Join Other Global Leaders from Leading American and African Companies and Government Agencies for U.S.-Africa Business Summit
Her Excellency Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka, Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa; Honorable Thomas Pickering, Consultant to The Boeing Company and former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs; Professor Yang Guang of the Institute of West-Asian and African Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; and Adjunct Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations Ambassador Princeton Lyman will serve as featured speakers during the "Investing in Africa: Chinese and U.S. Perspectives" plenary session, Thursday, November 15th at The Corporate Council on Africa's (CCA) 2007 U.S.-Africa Business Summit, it was announced today.
Interested participants can pre-register for the Summit at www.africacncl.org through November 7th.
China 's economic presence in Africa has sparked a number of debates in recent years. Some argue that China's rampant growth on the continent has a number of adverse implications while others argue that China's investment growth is having a positive impact on Africa's development. Panelists will weigh both sides of the debate, while contributing constructive feedback on avenues for China-Africa-U.S. trilateral dialogue and collaboration in support of Africa's growth objectives.
"China is dramatically expanding its economic strategic partnership with Africa," said CCA PRESIDENT STEPHEN HAYES. "Recent reactions from African and global leaders regarding China's economic presence in Africa covers a wide range. We are honored to have these distinguished speakers lead a dialogue that addresses both sides of the debate."
Panelists will bring a wide range of experience and perspectives to the discussion. Ambassador Lyman is former U.S. ambassador to South Africa and Nigeria, and former Assistant Secretary of State for International Affairs. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences is an institution directly under the State Council, the highest academic research organization in the fields of philosophy and social sciences, and is a national center for comprehensive studies in the People's Republic of China.
Hosted every two years, this is CCA's sixth Summit, but the first-ever to be held in Africa. More than 1,000 participants are expected to attend.
Appropriately titled "Africa: Entering the Door to Opportunities," the Summit will provide a forum for some of the world's top global business leaders to discuss trade and investment opportunities in Africa, best practices, and how best to increase trade and investment in ways that will help engender sustainable growth on the continent.
The 2007 Summit will feature business trade missions led by a diverse pool of U.S. organizations, to several African nations. In an unprecedented offering, Summit delegates will have an opportunity to explore business prospects in an additional African country, immediately following the Summit in Cape Town. Each trade mission will feature a financing expert.
The U.S.-Africa Business Summit will include sector-specific plenary sessions, workshops, business networking opportunities, and a two-day trade expo where businesses will showcase their products, services, and capabilities to potential buyers and customers throughout Africa. Sessions will focus on key sectors including, infrastructure development, mining, agribusiness, telecommunications, energy, transportation, and sports and tourism among numerous others.
To date, corporations including Chevron, Merck, ExxonMobil, Marathon Oil, The Boeing Company, 3M, Cargill, General Motors, Chrysler, Hewlett-Packard-SA, Coca-Cola Africa, Johnson & Johnson, Development Bank of Southern Africa, and Lazare Kaplan International, JR Boulle, Oracle South Africa, U.S. Agency for International Development, South African Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, HRDI, Merck, Hess Corporation, African Wildlife Foundation, Buchanan Renewable Energies Inc., African Development Bank, Carana Corporation, Government of Mauritius, Baker Hostetler, OPIC, Commercial Services, Westinghouse; as well as media outlets including Reuters Africa, All Africa Global Media, Africa Investor, New African, African Business, Corporate Africa, Institutional Investor, The Africa Report, and Jeune Afrique have come together as sponsors of the upcoming Summit.
CCA's U.S.-Africa Business Summits have a stellar track record of attendees and high-powered workshop and plenary sessions. Former World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, President George W. Bush, South Africa President Thabo Mbeki, and many other African Heads of State have participated in past Summits.
To find out more about the upcoming Summit, visit www.africacncl.org.
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. The organization is dedicated to bringing together potential business partners and to showcase business opportunities on the continent.
