Zimbabwe: Local business people to meet Hillary Clinton
Local businesspeople under the auspices of the American Business Association of Zimbabwe (ABAZ) will this month meet United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to pave the way for the southern African country to participate in the US's African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
Sources told businessdigest this week that the businesspeople would meet Clinton in Lusaka, Zambia, when she attends the four-day 2011 AGOA Forum, which commences in Lusaka next Tuesday.
"We are going to Lusaka to pave the way for Zimbabwe to participate in the AGOA,"one of the sources said. "We will have an opportunity to present the Zimbabwe case to the world's largest economy. We have to plan for the future."
The source said after the AGOA Forum, a session on Zimbabwe would be held in Victoria Falls on June 11 to explore ways the country can benefit from AGOA. The session, he said, would be attended by companies from Zimbabwe, South Africa and the US.
In its latest newsletter, ABAZ said even though Zimbabwe was not eligible for the trade preferences the US offers under AGOA, the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA)'s private sector session, during the forum, would be "a great way for Zimbabweans businesspeople to benefit from the regional trade networking that happens in the AGOA Forum".
The AGOA Forum would take place under the theme Enhanced trade through increased competitiveness, value addition and deeper regional integration".
"The 2011 Forum marks the 10th year that government officials, business leaders, and civil society from African countries and the United States will convene to promote trade, business, and investment opportunities that sustain economic development in Africa," reads a statement on the AGOA website.
The AGOA Forum brings together over 600 participants, including senior US and African officials, as well as US and African members of the private sector and civil society.
AGOA represents the US's trade and investment policy towards the African continent, working to reduce barriers to trade, increase diversified exports, create jobs and expand opportunities for Africans. AGOA provides trade preferences to 37 Sub-Saharan African countries that are making progress in economic and political reforms.
