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Secretary Clinton to Address AGOA Forum

Department of State Hosts 2010 AGOA Forum on U.S.-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Secretary Clinton to Address AGOA Forum

The ninth U.S.-Sub Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum, also known as the Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), will take place on August 2-3 at the Department of State in Washington, D.C., and August 4-6 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Secretary Clinton will deliver remarks at the forum on August 3 at the Ronald Reagan Building. The remarks will be open to credentialed members of the media. More details will be forthcoming in the public schedule.

The AGOA Forum will bring together more than 600 participants, including senior U.S. and African officials, as well as U.S. and African members of the private sector and civil society. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, and USAID Administrator Raj Shah will also participate in forum events.

This year's forum theme, "AGOA at 10: New Strategies for a Changing World," will focus on the linkages between private investment and economic growth in Africa and highlight ways in which African countries can best take advantage of trade opportunities under AGOA.

In conjunction with the AGOA meetings, the African Women's Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP) is taking place in Washington, D.C., July 26 - August 3, and Kansas City, Missouri, August 4 - 6. AWEP brings together women from AGOA-eligible countries to participate in a plenary session entitled "Integrating Africa's Women into the Global Economy." AWEP works to empower African women entrepreneurs to become part of their national and global business network by increasing opportunities for women to use the AGOA program, and expanding opportunities for exports and U.S. investment in sub-Saharan Africa.

AGOA represents a progressive U.S. trade and investment policy toward the continent that is reducing barriers to trade, increasing diversified exports, creating jobs and expanding opportunities for Africans. Specifically, AGOA provides trade preferences to designated countries that are making progress in economic and political reforms. There are currently 38 Sub-Saharan African countries that can take advantage of the trade benefits.

For more information about AGOA Forum events in both Washington, D.C. and Kansas City, Missouri, please contact the Bureau of African Affairs at JacksonNM@state.gov

Source: U.S. Department of State