from ODIRILE TOTENG in Gaborone, Botswana
Botswana Bureau
GABORONE, (CAJ News) – THE United States-Africa Business Summit, taking place this week in Botswana, will provide opportunities for Africa’s leading businesses to cement and open new ties with the world’s largest market.
That is according to Standard Bank, which is leading the trade and investment dialogue at the summit that has brought together more than 1 000 US and African public and private sector participants.
They include African heads of state, US and African ministers and senior government officials, private sector executives and entrepreneurs, international investors as well as multilateral stakeholders.
“There is immense potential for stronger ties and greater mutual benefit between the world’s biggest economy and Africa,” said Sim Tshabalala, Chief Executive Officer, Standard Bank Group.
Tshabalala, who leads a delegation drawn from both the bank’s Africa and New York operations, said achieving this would require greater levels of collaboration, access and participation.
Hosted by the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), the summit is building on the momentum of the December 2022 U.S.- Africa Leaders Summit and Business Forum led by the President Joe Biden administration.
In December last year, US President Biden announced over $15 billion in two-way trade and investment commitments, deals and partnerships.
This year’s summit in Botswana, set for Tuesday to Friday, is aptly themed, “Enhancing Africa’s Value in Global Value Chains.”
It explores the renewed commitment by both public and private sector stakeholders to building stronger US –Africa trade, investment and commercial ties.
This comes as trade ties between the US and Africa continue to strengthen but trails trade relations between the continent and China.
According to Standard Bank, since 2021, the US government has helped close more than 800 two-way trade and investment deals across 47 African countries for a total estimated value of over $18 billion.
The US private sector has closed investment deals in Africa valued at $8,6 billion. US goods and services traded with Africa totalled $83,6 billion in 2021.
– CAJ News