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AGOA opens in Accra with plea from President Kufuor

Accra, July 18, Ghanadot -  Wednesday, July 17, 2007 was the opening date for the Sixth African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum in Accra, Ghana and President John Agyekum Kufuor used that opportunity to ask private sector investors to look beyond the extractive industries in order to really help Africa develop.

The AGOA program, initiated by the U.S, is slated to end in 2015.  US President Bush in a pre-recorded message to the forum said this was a time of promise to the people of Africa and that the US would stand with the region.

The three day  forum, under the theme: "As Trade Grows, Africa Prospers: Optimizing the  Benefits under AGOA." wais meant to bring together trade ministers from the 39

Pres. Kufuor (rt) and Ms. Susan Schwab of the US (center)

Mr Allan Kyerematen, Minister of Trade, in the welcoming address to the forum, called for a conscious effort to coordinate and tailor US technical assistance programs to support and enhance the capacity requirements of African countries to implement AGOA related activities.

President Kufuor in his speech to the forum identified as helpful points for development agro-processing, manufacturing and tourism sectors of the economy.

President J. A. Kufuor

He also pointed out the need for investment in important sectors like Information Communication Technology  (ICT) contracting and outsourcing which could go a long to help Africa to become more competitive and effective partners in trade.

President Kufuor expressed the wish that the AGOA program should be extended for  five more years to give Africa a realistic chance to take full advantage of the  opportunities that the program offered.

"Given the time constraint of time and the very serious capacity challenges we face, we must admit, Africa can hardly exploit the benefits of this huge initiative,"  President Kufuor said.

"I will therefore appeal, first to the US Government to extend the time of AGOA to 20 years, then to the countries in Africa as well as our development partners in the US to design and implement a specific and efficacious vehicle targeted at empowering African nations in terms of capacity building."

President Kufuor quoted a statement made by US President George Bush in 2004, when he signed the AGOA Acceleration Act, which said:

"When America sells to Africa, it means employment for somebody in America"

With the quote, the president underlined the mutual benefits that AGOA had to offer both the US and African countries.

Ms. Susan Schwab, Head of the US delegation

President Kufuor did not fail to note the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), which compact Ghana signed last year, and was quick to point out how well that compact complimented the AGOA program.  Both, he said, was sure to win good will for America in Africa.

AGOA, as legislative instrument fashioned by the US government, has the aim of opening the US market to poor, eligible countries to export "over 6,400 duty-free and quotation-free products, estimated at more than 10 trillion dollars without reciprocity," according to news release by GNA.

 
Under this initiative, imports from Africa amounted to some 44.2 billion dollars in 2006, a five-fold increase over 2001, when the program began. The exports were mostly crude oil and apparel items.

The Head of the US Delegation, Ms Susan Schwab, said her country, was determined to serve as a strategic partner with Africa and would not stop, until the Continent has realized its enormous potentials.

She noted that if the Region could increase its share of the global trade, which stood at two per cent, by a single percentage, it would be generating 70 billion dollars annually. This would be about three times the amount of development assistance it has been receiving.

Ms Schwab re-affirmed the US commitment to reduce agricultural trade distortions and spoke of the need for enhanced intra-African trade and South-South trading.

Ms Schwab, who is the Trade Advisor to President Bush, described the future of Africa as full of hope saying, there was now a new breed of political leaders, who were determined to turn the economic fortunes of the Continent around.

Mr Kyerematen, who is also responsible for Industry, Private Sector Development and President’s Special Initiative, suggested the establishment of an AGOA Fund and other financial instruments to support small and medium scale enterprises.

News source, GNA