In recent weeks, Congressman Bobby L Rush (D-Ill.) has been vocal in his support of U.S. economic and trade development with Africa. Rush, who is the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, has both issued a letter to President Obama encouraging him to expand the United States’ relationship with Africa and issued a statement on the subcommittee’s joint hearing with the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health on U.S.-Africa Trade Relations: Creating a Platform for Economic Growth.
In his letter to President Obama, Rush states that he looks forward to working with the Administration to implement a mutually beneficial policy that will increase commerce and trade, especially for women, minorities, and small- and medium-sized enterprises.
The letter (PDF) reads in part http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/il01_rush/BLRLettertoPOTUS-6-17.pdf
I strongly encourage you to expand the commitment of the United States with sub-Saharan Africa. Our interest should far transcend the humanitarian concerns that have frequently underpinned U.S. engagement with the continent. Economic development, natural resource management, human security, capacity building, and global stability was well as traditional humanitarian assistance are inextricably linked.
Within the urgent, complex human and national security agenda of lowering poverty; disease; hunger; and abuse of women, children, and minorities, I fully support your aspiration to stimulate private sector development, two-way trade, and investment. Currently, there are thousands of American jobs that depend upon U.S. exports to Africa. There could be many more when Africa realizes its potential. In the near future, we wish to see a larger African middle class, more job opportunities, increased purchasing power for its consumers, and more exports to the continent.
Shortly after issuing his letter, Rush issued a statement emphasizing the Subcommittee’s support for charting a more productive course between the United States and Africa.
Rush’s statement includes the following highlights: http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/il01_rush/pr_090624_africa.shtml
“African economies are among the fastest growing, globally, and registered nearly 6% overall economic growth in 2007, the highest in 20 years. The continent’s challenges are amplified by the current global financial crisis. Nevertheless, Africa could represent a growth center and a stimulus to the world economy if provided with the proper tools.
“The U.S. government and private sector should jointly promote Africa’s economic development, U.S. trade with the region, and U.S.-Africa business partnerships.
“By increasing commerce and trade opportunities that include women, minorities, and small- and medium-sized enterprises, on both sides of the Atlantic, we will create a new zone of security and prosperity in Africa.
“I strongly encourage my colleagues to expand their commitment to expand trade and investment, spur economic growth, and create job opportunities for both the African and American workers.”
US EXPORT COUNCIL PROVIDES ASSISTANCE TO US COMPANIES SEEKING ACCESS TO HIGH GROWTH MARKETS OVERSEAS. http://usexportcouncil.com/
Showing posts with label sub-Saharan Africa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sub-Saharan Africa. Show all posts
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Russia resumes efforts for influence on Africa
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday ended a four-day trip to Africa that took him to Egypt, Nigeria, Namibia and Angola.
The tour was highlighted by the signing of a series of documents ranging from a strategic cooperation pact to energy deals.
Medvedev's visit, the second by a Russian president to sub-Saharan Africa, sent a signal to the world that Russia is striving to regain the influence it had on the resource-rich continent before the collapse of the Soviet Union.
ECONOMIC TIES
Medvedev, with a delegation of officials and businessmen in tow, seems to have focused his trip on helping Russian firms that have lagged behind their western peers in the pursuit of a bigger business presence on the natural resources laden continent.
Egypt, the first stop on Medvedev's trip, is Russia's largest trade partner among the four countries he visited. Trade volume between the two countries was 1.7 billion U.S. dollars last year, and the number of Egypt-bound Russian tourists reached 1.8 million in 2008, the Kremlin said.
During his visit to Cairo, Medvedev and his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak signed a strategic partnership treaty that specifies the main areas of bilateral cooperation, including a planned free trade zone between the two countries.
The Russian president also called for expanded commercial ties, saying projects in the energy field, high-tech industries and outer space are promising.
Energy cooperation topped Medvedev's agenda in Nigeria as Gazprom, Russia's state gas monopoly, had been picked as a core investor in the exploration of the African country's gas reserves.
Gazprom and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. signed documents on establishing a joint venture. Boris Ivanov, head of Gazprom International, said the venture would invest up to 400 million dollars to build a 360 km pipeline from the southern Niger Delta to northern Nigeria, with construction beginning next year.
"Gazprom still wants to buy all gas produced around Europe and resell it on its own terms," said Mikhail Korchemkin, head of the East European Gas Analysis, a U.S.-based consultancy.
As a business model, re-exporting African gas does not make sense, but geopolitical motivations play a part there, said Korchemkin, suggesting that Russia intends to reinforce its grip on Europe's energy supply.
In a move to boost Russian investment in Namibia, Gazprombank signed a deal with the national oil company Namcor, pledging to finance the construction of a gas power plant that would export electricity to South Africa.
Russia's Federal Fisheries Agency and Namibia's Ministry of Fisheries and Sea Resources also signed a memorandum of understanding, under which Russian fishermen would be allowed in the waters off Namibia, one of the biggest fish exporters in Africa.
Medvedev's last leg was Angola, which currently holds the presidency of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Russia's state diamond monopoly Alrosa has already started a branch in the Angolan capital of Luanda. Apart from cooperation on diamond mining,
Medvedev promised to help Angola modernize industries such as manufacturing and telecommunication, and launch an Angolan telecom satellite called "AngoSat."
MIDEAST PEACE PROCESS
Although Medvedev's trip to Africa might be driven by a desire to boost economic ties, the political significance of the visit should never be neglected.
The visit came on the heels of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Egypt. Obama delivered a keynote speech at Cairo University during the trip and vowed to find a fair solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The region has already rocked by mass protests over the Iranian presidential elections, making Medvedev's visit to the regional power broker "extremely timely," The Moscow Times quoted Yevgeny Satanovsky, director of the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, as saying.
Medvedev and Mubarak "spent quite some time" during the visit discussing conflicts in the Middle East, in particular continuing the Russian push for a peace conference to be held in Moscow by the end of this year.
"Russia is exerting its best efforts to resume the peace talks in the Middle East according to the two-state solution and freezing settlements," Medvedev said after talks with Mubarak, who hailed
Russia as "one of the greatest countries in the world and has clout on the Middle East peace process."
Russia is a member of the International Quartet that is intent on resolving the Middle East conflict. The Quartet, which also includes the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, endorsed the Roadmap that calls on Israel and the Palestinians to take a series of steps ending with Palestinian statehood.
Meanwhile, Medvedev, in his first visit to the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, said he welcomes all Arab countries to attend the international peace conference in Moscow.
"Lasting security can not be achieved in the Middle East without just and comprehensive compromise to the Arab-Israeli conflict," Medvedev said.
"This comprehensive compromise has to end up with establishing an independent Palestinian state living in peace with all nations in the region including Israel, with its capital in East Jerusalem," he stressed.
Medvedev proposed in January a Middle East peace conference to be held in Moscow in the first half of 2009.
The proposal was welcomed by Palestinians and Arabs, but was rejected by the United States and Israel, which were concerned with Russia's alleged engagement with militant Hamas and its military aid to the moderate Palestinian National Authority (PNA).
Neither Medvedev nor Obama unveiled any sensational initiatives, but both reiterated the well-known stances of their countries on the Middle East peace process, said Maria Appakova, a commentator with the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.
"The Russian policy in the Middle East cannot be more balanced than it already is," and the key is what will happen if Moscow and Washington coordinate the principles of their Middle East policies, she said.
By Xinhua writer Yu Maofeng Editor: Mu Xuequan
US EXPORT COUNCIL PROVIDES ASSISTANCE TO US COMPANIES SEEKING ACCESS TO HIGH GROWTH MARKETS OVERSEAS. http://usexportcouncil.com/
The tour was highlighted by the signing of a series of documents ranging from a strategic cooperation pact to energy deals.
Medvedev's visit, the second by a Russian president to sub-Saharan Africa, sent a signal to the world that Russia is striving to regain the influence it had on the resource-rich continent before the collapse of the Soviet Union.
ECONOMIC TIES
Medvedev, with a delegation of officials and businessmen in tow, seems to have focused his trip on helping Russian firms that have lagged behind their western peers in the pursuit of a bigger business presence on the natural resources laden continent.
Egypt, the first stop on Medvedev's trip, is Russia's largest trade partner among the four countries he visited. Trade volume between the two countries was 1.7 billion U.S. dollars last year, and the number of Egypt-bound Russian tourists reached 1.8 million in 2008, the Kremlin said.
During his visit to Cairo, Medvedev and his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak signed a strategic partnership treaty that specifies the main areas of bilateral cooperation, including a planned free trade zone between the two countries.
The Russian president also called for expanded commercial ties, saying projects in the energy field, high-tech industries and outer space are promising.
Energy cooperation topped Medvedev's agenda in Nigeria as Gazprom, Russia's state gas monopoly, had been picked as a core investor in the exploration of the African country's gas reserves.
Gazprom and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. signed documents on establishing a joint venture. Boris Ivanov, head of Gazprom International, said the venture would invest up to 400 million dollars to build a 360 km pipeline from the southern Niger Delta to northern Nigeria, with construction beginning next year.
"Gazprom still wants to buy all gas produced around Europe and resell it on its own terms," said Mikhail Korchemkin, head of the East European Gas Analysis, a U.S.-based consultancy.
As a business model, re-exporting African gas does not make sense, but geopolitical motivations play a part there, said Korchemkin, suggesting that Russia intends to reinforce its grip on Europe's energy supply.
In a move to boost Russian investment in Namibia, Gazprombank signed a deal with the national oil company Namcor, pledging to finance the construction of a gas power plant that would export electricity to South Africa.
Russia's Federal Fisheries Agency and Namibia's Ministry of Fisheries and Sea Resources also signed a memorandum of understanding, under which Russian fishermen would be allowed in the waters off Namibia, one of the biggest fish exporters in Africa.
Medvedev's last leg was Angola, which currently holds the presidency of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Russia's state diamond monopoly Alrosa has already started a branch in the Angolan capital of Luanda. Apart from cooperation on diamond mining,
Medvedev promised to help Angola modernize industries such as manufacturing and telecommunication, and launch an Angolan telecom satellite called "AngoSat."
MIDEAST PEACE PROCESS
Although Medvedev's trip to Africa might be driven by a desire to boost economic ties, the political significance of the visit should never be neglected.
The visit came on the heels of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Egypt. Obama delivered a keynote speech at Cairo University during the trip and vowed to find a fair solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The region has already rocked by mass protests over the Iranian presidential elections, making Medvedev's visit to the regional power broker "extremely timely," The Moscow Times quoted Yevgeny Satanovsky, director of the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies, as saying.
Medvedev and Mubarak "spent quite some time" during the visit discussing conflicts in the Middle East, in particular continuing the Russian push for a peace conference to be held in Moscow by the end of this year.
"Russia is exerting its best efforts to resume the peace talks in the Middle East according to the two-state solution and freezing settlements," Medvedev said after talks with Mubarak, who hailed
Russia as "one of the greatest countries in the world and has clout on the Middle East peace process."
Russia is a member of the International Quartet that is intent on resolving the Middle East conflict. The Quartet, which also includes the United States, the European Union and the United Nations, endorsed the Roadmap that calls on Israel and the Palestinians to take a series of steps ending with Palestinian statehood.
Meanwhile, Medvedev, in his first visit to the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, said he welcomes all Arab countries to attend the international peace conference in Moscow.
"Lasting security can not be achieved in the Middle East without just and comprehensive compromise to the Arab-Israeli conflict," Medvedev said.
"This comprehensive compromise has to end up with establishing an independent Palestinian state living in peace with all nations in the region including Israel, with its capital in East Jerusalem," he stressed.
Medvedev proposed in January a Middle East peace conference to be held in Moscow in the first half of 2009.
The proposal was welcomed by Palestinians and Arabs, but was rejected by the United States and Israel, which were concerned with Russia's alleged engagement with militant Hamas and its military aid to the moderate Palestinian National Authority (PNA).
Neither Medvedev nor Obama unveiled any sensational initiatives, but both reiterated the well-known stances of their countries on the Middle East peace process, said Maria Appakova, a commentator with the Russian news agency RIA Novosti.
"The Russian policy in the Middle East cannot be more balanced than it already is," and the key is what will happen if Moscow and Washington coordinate the principles of their Middle East policies, she said.
By Xinhua writer Yu Maofeng Editor: Mu Xuequan
US EXPORT COUNCIL PROVIDES ASSISTANCE TO US COMPANIES SEEKING ACCESS TO HIGH GROWTH MARKETS OVERSEAS. http://usexportcouncil.com/
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