BUSINESS, EBOLA
DISCUSSED AT US-AFRICA SUMMIT
Secretary of State John
Kerry, right, looks to Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, as he
speaks to media at the State Department, in Washington, Monday, Aug. 4, 2014,
before a bilateral meeting at the US Africa Summit. Nearly 50 African heads of
state are gathering in Washington for an unprecedented summit. (AP Photo/ Evan
Vucci)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration sought Monday to strengthen
ties with Africa at an unprecedented summit with dozens of African leaders,
grappling with issues such as investment, poverty, terrorism, corruption and
deadly diseases.
Nearly 50 African heads of state attended the gathering focused on how
to build democracy and raise investment in the continent, which is home to some
of the world's fastest growing economies and an expanding middle class.
Yet an outbreak of deadly Ebola virus, which has killed at least 887
people in West Africa, cast a pall over the summit. Leaders from Sierra Leone
and Liberia canceled their plans to attend and the U.S. set up medical screenings
for other officials traveling from those nations.
Those who did attend, including women dressed in brightly colored
African wear, crowded hotel lobbies and buses. Pickup trucks carrying signs
with messages like "End Dictatorship in Ethiopia" cruised downtown
streets. Traffic was snarled and streets were closed around event sites.
Inside the summit venues, top U.S. officials spoke positively about
U.S.-Africa relations and progress on the continent.
"I think something like 10 of the 15 fastest-growing countries in
the world are in Africa," Secretary of State John Kerry said. "Africa
will have a larger workforce than India or China by 2040."
The Obama administration says it is committed to renewing the Africa
Growth and Opportunity Act, which is set to expire next year. Since 2000, AGOA
has been at the center of the U.S. efforts to promote trade and investment in
Africa while opening new sources of material for U.S. producers.
"AGOA has made it possible for Ford Motor Co. to export engines
duty-free from South Africa, where Ford has invested over $300 million so they
can supply engines worldwide," Kerry said. "And the efficiencies of
that operation have allowed Ford to create 800 new jobs at their Kansas City
plant as part of the global production line."
South Africa President Jacob Zuma said he wants to see AGOA renewed for
another 15 years, with the inclusion of South Africa. South African exports to
the United States were worth $3.6 billion in 2013, according to the American
Chamber of Commerce. It said the United States was the biggest destination for
South African exports of passenger cars, receiving 42 percent of the total.
About 600 U.S. companies do business in South Africa, which has one of
the biggest economies on the continent, but struggles with low growth, labor
unrest and high unemployment.
"Almost 95 percent of South African exports receive preferential
treatment under AGOA," Zuma said in a speech at the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce. "We strongly believe that by endorsing the extension of AGOA, the
U.S. will be promoting African integration, industrialization and
infrastructure development."
The U.S. is competing in Africa with China, which surpassed the United
States in 2009 as Africa's largest trading partner. China has been increasingly
investing in natural resources projects in Africa, and Chinese leaders make
frequent trips to the continent.
In Kenya, Aly-Khan Satchu, the owner of a financial management company
and a prominent social commentator, said he believes the U.S. is "a bit
late" to what has been a global re-engagement with Africa. That movement
in Kenya has been led by China, which is helping build new roads and
overpasses, and new skyscrapers rising above Nairobi, the capital.
Vice President Joe Biden warned that corruption was a red light to
progress in Africa. He called on African nations to improve rule of law with
better court systems, independent oversight of government departments and
vetting of police and security officials.
"Corruption ... not only undermines but prevents the establishment
of genuine democratic systems. It stifles economic growth and scares away
investment. It siphons off resources that should be used to lift people out of
poverty, and it weakens your military readiness," Biden told summit
attendees. "It creates vulnerabilities to foreign manipulation and
interference."
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said extremist militants threaten
to hamper progress in eastern Africa. Mohamud's Western-backed government has
promised to put the country on a path toward democracy and economic progress,
despite regular attacks by the Islamic group, al-Shabab.
Mohamud, whose life has been threatened by the group, said young people
in his country are being herded into al-Shabab training camps, toys are
replaced by guns and the youth are missing out on simple pleasures like going
to a movie or relaxing on a beach.
Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell and other
U.S. officials spoke Monday with Guinean President Alpha Condé and senior
officials from Liberia and Sierra Leone about the Ebola outbreak. Burwell and
Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
emphasized ongoing U.S. support for efforts to control the outbreak, officials
said.
The World Bank Group on Monday pledged as much as $200 million in
emergency funding to help Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone contain the spread
of Ebola infections. The group of five development organizations said the money
would pay for urgently needed medical supplies, medical staff salaries and help
enhance the region's disease surveillance and lab networks to stem future
outbreaks.
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