Florizelle Liser, President of the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), highlighted Morocco's strong trade and investment credentials at the opening of the 16th U.S.-Africa Business Summit, which is taking place in Dallas, Texas, from May 6-9.
In an interview with Morocco’s official news agency (MAP) Ms. Liser noted that Morocco is the only country in Africa to have a free trade agreement with the United States and the largest investor in sub-Saharan Africa.
"We are therefore very pleased to welcome a high-level delegation to this year's summit in Dallas, led by Minister Delegate for Investment, Convergence and Public Policy Evaluation, Mohcine Jazouli," she said.
The U.S.-Africa Business Summit, held in Marrakech under the high patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, "was a great success," the American official confirmed.
Ms. Liser, the first woman to head the council since its inception in 1993, pointed out that the program for the 16th U.S.-Africa Business Summit, being held in Dallas from May 6-9, includes high-level discussions between U.S. and African governments and private sector officials on key issues, sectors, and challenges affecting trade, investment, and business between the two sides.
The former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Africa added that the approximately 1,500 participants in the summit, including eight African heads of state, ministers, U.S. government officials, and senior executives, will also discuss the most prominent African and American initiatives.
She noted that special sessions on SMEs and women's empowerment will provide an opportunity to highlight the actors who play a crucial role in economic growth in the United States and its African partners.
The President of the Corporate Council on Africa explained that U.S. financing agencies, including the Export-Import Bank and the Development Finance Corporation, along with international financial institutions such as the African Development Bank, the Trade and Development Bank, and the African investment platform "Africa 50," will focus on discussing the financing of major infrastructure and other projects with institutional investors and venture capital managers who will be participating in the summit.
Building on this year's theme, "U.S.-Africa: Partnering for Sustainable Success," the speaker continued, the summit's goal is not only to promote dialogue but also to elevate trade partnerships, transactions, and joint ventures between the United States and Africa that will stimulate economic growth and prosperity for Americans and Africans.
Ms. Liser considered the U.S.-Africa Business Summit to be a unique platform and opportunity to focus on economic relations between the United States and Africa, and the potential for growth in the areas of trade, investment, and trade commitment.
The American official stressed that in the face of the multiple challenges facing African countries, resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, rising and volatile commodity prices, and the fallout from the crises in Ukraine and Gaza, summit participants will focus on cooperative efforts to address these challenges and the major stakes and growing opportunities that the African market presents for the U.S. government and private sector partners.
