WEF in Ethiopia: Shaping Africa’s Transformation
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 7 May 2012 – More than 700 leaders from business, government, civil society, academia, media and the arts from over 70 countries will meet at the 22nd World Economic Forum on Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 9 to 11 May. The meeting is being hosted for the first time in Addis Ababa with the support of the Government of Ethiopia.
Ethiopia, which is one of the world’s fastest growing economies, is home to the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Thus Addis Ababa offers an exceptional opportunity to bring together pan-African and global leaders to discuss the future of the region. Under the theme Shaping Africa’s Transformation, the meeting’s agenda will integrate three pillars: Strengthening Africa’s Leadership; Accelerating Investment in Frontier Markets; and Scaling Innovation for Shared Opportunities.
“Africa is experiencing strong growth and despite the increasingly volatile global economy, African leaders are pursuing measures that will transform the region into the next global growth pole. In this context, the World Economic Forum on Africa will seek to leverage the positive political, economic and social progress of recent years by providing a true multistakeholder platform to develop new ideas and actions to achieve further sustainable, inclusive growth,” says Elsie S. Kanza, Director, Head of Africa, World Economic Forum.
Led by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia and representatives from his government, other African leaders who have confirmed their participation at the meeting are: Djibouti, President Ismail Omar Guelleh; Gabon, President Ali Bongo Ondimba; Gambia, President Yahya Jammeh; Mauritius, Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economic Development Charles Gaëtan Xavier-Luc Duval; Namibia, Prime Minister Nahas Gideon Angula; Nigeria, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan; Rwanda, President Paul Kagame; Tanzania, President Jakaya M. Kikwete; and Zimbabwe, Deputy Prime Minister, Arthur G. Mutambara.
In addition, leading international personalities who will be present include: Pascal Lamy, Director-General, World Trade Organization (WTO); Abdoulie Janneh, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA); Jean Ping, Chairperson of the Commission, African Union; Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (2007-2010); Fahad Bin Abdulrahman Bin Sulaiman, Minister of Agriculture of Saudi Arabia;Beverley Oda, Minister of International Cooperation of Canada, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA); and Rajiv J. Shah, Administrator, US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Co-chairs of the meeting are: Kofi Annan, Chairman, Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and the Africa Progress Panel (APP), Switzerland; Gao Xiqing, President and Vice-Chairman, China Investment Corporation (CIC), People’s Republic of China; Bekele Geleta, Secretary-General, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Geneva; Monhla Hlahla, Chairperson, Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC), South Africa; Donald Kaberuka, President, African Development Bank (AfDB), Tunisia; Doug McMillon, President and Chief Executive Officer, Wal-Mart International, Wal-Mart Stores, USA; andTidjane Thiam, Group Chief Executive, Prudential, United Kingdom.
You may have an interest in also reading…
Foreign Direct Investments in RSA
By Nataly Marchbank (Senior Manager, International) and Hasinah Essop (Senior Consultant, International Tax) – PricewaterhouseCoopers South Africa There are many jurisdictions internationally
Paolo Sironi, IBM: Mind the Gap Between Small-Medium Businesses and Their Banks
Financial services are adapting to better serve SMEs, but a gap remains between what banks offer and what these businesses
The New Global Context – Uncertainty Unveiled
The emergence of a global market place may already be grinding to a halt. Before long, economic integration, a process