US new strategy for Africa

The United States says it is devising a new strategy for business leaders in both US and Africa, to create powerful linkages and strong partnerships that lead to greater prosperity.

Under the strategy, according to acting U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Dr. Rebecca Blank, U.S will pursue four objectives in Africa: strengthening democratic institutions; spurring economic growth, trade and investment; advancing peace and security; and promoting opportunity and development.

Dr. Blank was speaking to a cross-section of African journalists via telephone interview  as part of  the “Doing Business in Africa” campaign – an administration initiative to help American businesses identify and seize opportunities that will further the United States’ commercial and trade relationship with Africa. 

The campaign, she said, will leverage the United States’ trade promotion, financing and strategic communications capabilities to help U.S. businesses overcome any challenges faced in establishing a business relationship in Africa.

Dr. Blank said: “President Barak Obama believes that Sub-Saharan Africa can be the world’s next great economic success story, and the United States wants to help promote and advance that success. 

“He obviously has a long-time interest in Africa.  He has roots in Africa, as you all know, and I actually rather expect that he is going to put quite a bit of focus on the African region.  

“The President believes that addressing the opportunities and challenges in Africa requires a comprehensive U.S. policy that is proactive, forward-looking, and that balances our long-term interests with near-term obligations.”  

The “Doing Business in Africa” strategy, she explained will be an unprecedented, whole-of-government approach to promote more U.S. trade with Africa, to spur greater trade financing, and to reach out to key groups such as the African diaspora within the U.S.  

The overarching goal is to dramatically strengthen U.S. commercial, trade, and investment ties with sub-Saharan Africa – a critical part of the President’s Strategy.  

“We are going to better leverage on our U.S. domestic export promotion offices to train and equip more counsellors to help educate U.S. exporters about opportunities for trade with Africa.  

“We’re going to host Africa Global Business Summits with experts who know the best strategies for entering the African market, and we’re going to promote even more trade missions and business interaction from both the U.S. and from Africa.

“Under the leadership of our export finance agencies, we will help implement clean energy projects in sub-Saharan Africa, and help promote U.S. private-sector participation as this sector continues to grow.  

“We are similarly going to be training all of our U.S.-based domestic commercial service officers who work with export-ready companies about the opportunities in Africa, so that they can promote Africa as a potential place for investment.” 

She indicated that the campaign will be focused on efforts beyond just South Africa and will be working among other things to establish a regional investment treaty, to provide trade-capacity building assistance, to build a more open and predictable business climate, and to establish America’s first-ever regionally-based commercial dialogue – the first U.S. commercial dialogue in Africa.