Senior Government Officials And Private Sector Leaders Convene at Agoa Forum Private Sector Lunch

Janat Mukwaya, Carol Adelman, Rosa Whitaker and Uhuru Kenyatta at Agoa Luncheon on July 16
30 July 2008
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The Whitaker Group (Washington, DC)
press release

Washington, DC — On the occasion of the seventh annual Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Private Sector Forum, The Whitaker Group (TWG), as Secretariat of the AGOA Action Committee, hosted the lunch discussion, “Public-Private Partnerships: New Resources Driving Growth in Africa,” attended by over 400 U.S. and African senior government officials and private sector and foundation leaders.   The distinguished audience included 18 Ministers from 15 African nations.

Co-hosted by Coca-Cola Africa, Motorola and the Center for Global Prosperity, the event brought together policy and opinion leaders from both sides of the Atlantic to discuss strategies for advancing public-private partnerships in support of social and economic development in Africa. Focusing on the shift in importance in global development from official development assistance to private sector funds, which are now 4.5 times as large as official development aid, discussants highlighted the unique ability of public-private partnerships to encourage entrepreneurship, capacity building and economic growth in labor intensive industries by bringing together governments, corporations that recognize the value of good global citizenship and foundations with diverse resources and expertise.

Moderated by Rosa Whitaker, the panel included  presentations by His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Her Excellency Janat Mukwaya, Uganda’s Minister of Tourism, Trade and Industry, John Simon, Executive Vice President for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), Jodi Hanson Bond, Vice President, Global Government Affairs at Motorola, Geoffrey Lamb, Managing Director of Public Policy for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr. Carol Adelman, Director of the Center for Global Prosperity, and Michael Goltzman, Managing Director for International Relations for the Coca-Cola Company. The panelists were joined on the dais by Her Excellency Dr. Obiageli K Ezekwesili, Vice President for Africa, the World Bank, Ambassador Jendayi Frazer, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs, US Department of State, Bobby J. Pittman, Jr., Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Africa, National Security Council, Florizelle Liser, Assistant United States Trade Representative for Africa, and His Excellency Erastus Mwencha, Deputy Chairperson Africa Union.

The annual AGOA Forum is among the largest US-Africa Summits, rivaling similar forums hosted by Japan, the European Union and China. The Forum provides a platform for US and African government officials and business leaders to engage and develop strategies to advance AGOA, trade, social development and investment in Africa. Taking place soon after the G8 Summit in Japan and just prior to World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha Round negotiations, the 2008 AGOA Private Sector Forum came at a critical juncture in US-Africa and developed-developing world trade and provided an important opportunity to strengthen US-Africa partnerships and highlight the role of the US private sector in contributing to Africa’s development.

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