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June 14, 2012

Sub-Saharan Africa
The color green denotes Sub-Saharan Africa

U.S., Sub-Saharan Trade Conference Begins Thursday

The United States will host this week the 11th annual U.S.-Sub-Saharan African Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum, which will focus on a region with one of the world's fastest rates of economic growth.

The conference, which will be held on Thursday, June 14 and on Friday, June 15, in Washington, D.C., is mandated by the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). 

It is the U.S. government's premier, high-level, bi-lateral event with sub-Saharan Africa, a geographical term describing the countries that are either partly or completely located south of the Sahara, the world's largest hot desert, consisting of 3.6 million square miles. 

Countries are eligible to become AGOA members based on improved labor rights and movement toward a market-based economy.

The AGOA agreement, which was signed in 2000, is scheduled to expire in 2015, but the Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C.-based independent research and policy institute, has called for its extension until 2025.

Sub-Saharan Africa is commonly referred to as “Black Africa” because of the regions large black populations.

The region is developing economically, according to research paper, “The African Growth and Opportunity Act:  Looking Back, Looking Forward,” by Brookings. The projected growth rate in Sub-Saharan Africa for 2012 is 5.5 percent. Last year, the Economist, the British magazine, reported that six of the 10 fastest–growing economies of the last decade were located in Africa.

In the mid-1990s, Sub-Saharan Africa's per capita growth rate was a minus 1.1 percent. From 2000 to 2008, the region's per capita growth rate was just under 5 percent, Brookings reported.

This year's AGOA conference theme is “Enhancing Africa's Infrastructure for Trade.”

Ministers will focus on developing transport, energy, telecommunications, improving the business climate and realizing effective regulation of the key infrastructure sectors. The conference also will focus on regional economic integration through regulatory harmonization. In addition, it will highlight trade opportunities for U.S. business.

The event attracts more than 600 participants, including senior U.S. and African officials, as well as U.S. and African members of the private sector and civil society.

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