"This is the last lap of my visit to Africa. At each stop, my paramount message has been that even if this continent is faced with great challenges, it is also a moment of promise and hope for Africa".
"Africa is a continent of hope", declared Barack Obama in a speech at a business forum on the 1st of July 2013, in Dar-es-Salaam, in the presence of his host, President Jakaya Kikwete and Donald Kaberuka, President of the African Development Bank Group.
"This is homage to the extraordinary determination and talents of Africans all over the continent, the American President said. "I believe that this should create opportunities for setting up a new type of relationship between the United States and Africa - a partnership founded on equality and shared interests. And this begins by giving due consideration to the achievements that we witness and the empowerment of Africans for greater access to more economic opportunities," President Obama emphasized.
During the trip that took him successively to Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania, the US President demonstrated the readiness of the United States to be present at the dawn of "Africa's awakening". A continent full of hope and promise, which in spite of manifold drawbacks brought about by the global economic situation has shown great resilience with the result that many an African country has registered tangible positive results..
The unveiling the "Power Africa" initiative in Dar es Salaam on 1st July, an investment that is expected to double access to electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa, was proof enough that President Obama is well aware of the importance of energy for Africa, a major pillar of the AfDB's structural transformation agenda on the continent. In his speech he paid fitting tribute to Africa's premier development finance institution: "I want to thank the African Development Bank for its assistance" in the "Power Africa" project, he declared.
He had earlier announced other major American initiatives relating to trade and the Africa-America summit slated for 2014, whose object is to strengthen cooperation between the United States of America and Africa .
