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Maximise AGOA opportunities, US urges African countries

Maximise AGOA opportunities, US urges African countries
Flori Lizer
Published date:
Wednesday, 19 August 2015
Author:
Chikodi Okereocha

African countries have been urged to maximise investment opportunities offered by the 10-year extension of the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) by the US Government.

United States Assistant Trade Representative for Africa, Ms Florizelle Liser, made the call yesterday in a tele-conference with journalists across Africa ahead of the ‘2015 AGOA Forum’ scheduled to hold in Libreville, Gabon, from August 24 to August 27, 2015.

She reiterated the US Government’s commitment towards making AGOA more viable in the next decade. “There is a very strong commitment from US Government and its African partners to further promote AGOA in the next 10-years.

“We want African entrepreneurs to take the right advantage of AGOA as we are seriously looking forward to work with them. We expect that in the next ten years Africans would be able to increase their input in the US market,’’ she said.

Liser said the Act had in the last 15 years opened business and investment development between the US and its partners. According to her, African countries, in the period under review, had tripled export of their non-oil products into the US.

She said AGOA had in the last years created employment opportunities for young Africans and their American counterparts.

The US official expressed optimism that the forthcoming AGOA forum in Gabon would reposition the Act and deepen US economic relations with Africans in future.

She urged African entrepreneurs to use their experience and opportunity garnered from AGOA to extend their business and investment partnerships to other countries.

 

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