FNM presents success story of medicine production in Mozambique
President Nyusi attending Africa Business and Investment Forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
7:26 CAT | 29 Jan 2018
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A high-level public- private sector dialogue on ways of supporting and promoting private-sector-led growth in Africa will take place on 30 January in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.The African Business and Investment Forum will serve as a platform for African and U.S. private sector executives to share insights with African heads of state, ministers, senior USG officials, representatives of multilateral institutions and other stakeholders.
The one-day Forum will feature roundtable discussions on issues related to trade and diversification, energy, agribusiness, and health.
This will ensure that private sector voices and views are heard by leaders and key stakeholders, and that the day-to-day challenges faced by private sector operators in Africa are addressed.
Among the more than 150 expected participants are Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn of Ethiopia; President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana; President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique; President Paul Kagame of Rwanda; President Macky Sall of Senegal; President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda; President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger; and President João Lourenço of Angola.
CEOs and senior executives of key U.S and African companies, both multinationals and SMEs will also attend.
In addition to providing a platform for a high-level public-private sector dialogue, the objectives of the Forum are to increase opportunities for business partnerships; secure commitments, as well as track the adoption of business-friendly policies; and, showcase countries and policies that are contributing to an enabling environment for enhanced African regional and global trade and investment, including with the United States.
The Africa Business and Investment Forum was organised by the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) in partnership with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
ECA’s Executive Secretary, Vera Songwe, and CCA’s President and CEO, Florizelle Liser, will be representing the two organizing institutions at the event.
CCA, as the premier U.S. business association solely focused on promoting U.S.-Africa trade, investment and business engagement, will bring its 23-year expertise of successfully providing insights, connections and access critical to U.S. and African businesses operating on the continent.
ECA provides a unique platform for intermediation between the public and the private sector policies and programs, offering solutions and support to accelerate sustainable private sector development on the continent.
Program-at-a-Glance
8:30 am – 9:30 am | Welcome and Remarks
9:30 am – 11:00 am | Roundtable I – Promoting African Trade and Diversification: A Business Imperative
As a result of the AU Heads of State agreement to establish a Continental Free Trade Area, Africa is now on a path to reduce barriers to the movement of goods and people across the continent and to significantly increase intra-African trade. This commitment along with a plan for enhanced African industrialization will support value-added manufacturing and the diversification of African economies. The round table will present an opportunity for high-level dialogue on the implementation of these commitments, and what African and U.S. businesses see as the critical steps that must be taken to make the promise of increased and more diversified African trade a reality.
11:00 am – 11:30 am | Networking Break
11:30 am – 1:00 pm | Roundtable II – Increasing Power Supply through Cross Border Networks
As the demand for power in Africa continues to grow, regional networks will be critical to increasing the number of people who have access to power and more importantly provide the much-needed capacity for the rapid industrialization being experienced in Africa.
New resource discoveries and alternative fuel all hold incredible regional opportunities for the entire continent. The roundtable will discuss the kinds of regulatory reforms required to aid investment, the role of various actors and how they come together to deliver efficient and secure access to power across the Continent.
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm | Luncheon
2:00 pm – 3:30 pm | Roundtable III – The Business of Agriculture: Creating Successful Agribusinesses
The agribusiness sector has the ability to positively impact the economies of African countries because of its ability to lift millions out of poverty. The time is ripe to invest in building a 21st century business-oriented and sustainable agribusiness sector given the amount of arable land, entrepreneurship, and infrastructural development occurring on the continent. Despite the sluggish pace of agribusiness investments in Africa, there are examples of very successful agribusiness operations where governments and the private sector are working together to positively impact economic development.
3:30 pm – 4:00 pm | Break
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm | Roundtable IV – Advancing Public Private Partnerships on Non-Communicable Diseases
This session continues the health forum discussion that took place in September of this year on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) where the World Health Organization engaged with CCA private sector organizations on promoting increased public/private sector collaboration on non-communicable diseases (NCDs). There is widespread recognition that millions around the globe are dying prematurely from diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes. To achieve Goal 3 of the United Nations Sustainable Development, nations agreed that good health and well-being is essential. This goal is also expressed in the African Union 2063 Agenda.
Panelists in this session will talk about specific benchmarks and measure that can be implemented and identify best practices in helping to make real progress in the fight against NCDs.
About The Africa Business and Investment Forum
The Forum will be held on the margins of the African Union (AU) Summit, and will bring together African and U.S. public and private sector leaders to discuss specific benchmarks and measures that can be implemented to support private-sector led growth in Africa.
During the day-long Forum, four high level roundtables will be held to enable African and U.S. private sector executives to engage in conversations and share insights with African Heads of State, Ministers, senior USG officials, representatives of multilateral institutions and other stakeholders. The roundtables on trade and diversification, energy, agribusiness, and health will ensure that the private sector voice and views are heard by leaders and key stakeholders, and that both African and U.S. policies address in concrete ways the day-to-day doing business challenges faced by the private sector operating in Africa.
In addition to providing a platform for a high-level public-private sector dialogue, the objectives of the Forum are to increase opportunities for business partnerships, secure commitments to as well as track the adoption of business-friendly policies, and showcase countries and policies that are contributing to an enabling environment for enhanced African regional and global trade and investment, including with the United States.
Source: APA /www.corporatecouncilonafrica.com
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