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.


Tags assigned to this article:
djiboutiethiopia

You may have an interest in also reading…

Vive, Île-de-France! Go-ahead Region takes its Leading Role On Sustainability to its Heart

As a capital region, this historical part of France is a major European political and financial hub The Île-de-France region

The Role of the Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (CAIO)

Embracing The Decade of Productivity As we usher in the “decade of productivity” driven by advancements in artificial intelligence (AI),

Emerging Managers Summit South

October 2012 – Las Vegas, NV If you are looking to expand and diversify your asset allocation by investing in emerging