[size]US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meets with Nelson Mandela, 94, former president of South Africa, at his home in Qunu, South Africa, on August 6, 2012.[/size]
JOHANNESBURG — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in South Africa as part of her 10-day tour of the continent. She met with former president Nelson Mandela in his Qunu home Monday before taking part in high-level meetings aimed at promoting U.S. investment and trade -- which has been a key focus of the secretary＇s sweep of the continent.
The U.S.-South Africa Business Summit kicked off Monday in Johannesburg. It brings together 200 top business executives and government officials from both countries.
Clinton is attending the summit Monday before she heads to the capital, Pretoria, for the third annual U.S.-South Africa Strategic Dialogue. She is joined by a delegation of 10 senior U.S. business executives representing a wide range of sectors from aviation and automobile to energy and shipping.
South Africa is the leading market on the continent for American goods, while the United States is both an important export market and a source of foreign direct investment for South Africa.
Razia Khan, the head of Africa research at London-based Standard Chartered Bank, says Clinton needs to cement those ties. "It＇s about being able to secure the relationship, ensuring that their interests are aligned, and that there is a framework for working through disagreements," stated Khan. "Both South Africa and the U.S. have almost been sidelined by the importance of China, the speed with which we＇ve seen China-Africa trade increasing."
Africa is home to some of the world＇s fastest growing economies and populations. Analysts say the continent is increasingly a land of investment opportunity, not risk.
South Africa holds the rotating African Union leadership, which Khan says makes the country influential in molding foreign trade relations on the continent.
Boosting U.S. trade and investment in sub-Saharan Africa is one of the cornerstones of the Obama administration＇s Africa foreign policy.
"Africa is more than a billion people now, more than two billion by the half century mark. [That] represents a vast untapped market for U.S. trade and investment." said J. Peter Pham, director of the Washington-based Michael S. Ansari Africa Center.
The United States is Africa＇s second largest trade partner after China, which is known to leverage infrastructure projects for access to Africa＇s consumers and its natural resources.
Clinton kicked of her trip with a speech in Dakar that some say aimed to sell Africans on the benefits of U.S. partnership. "The United States will stand up for democracy and universal human rights even when it might be easier or more profitable to look the other way, to keep the resources flowing. Not every partner makes that choice," she said. "But we do and we will."
China criticized Clinton＇s remarks as "cheap shots," aimed at "discrediting China＇s engagement with the continent."
Khan says Africa＇s future prosperity depends on more than increased trade, be it with China, the U.S. or other countries. Africa, she says, needs to diversify its exports. "It [Africa] has primarily been seen as a producer of raw materials, [it] may not have the infrastructure, [it] may not have the scale economies in place in individual countries to really be able to do much in the way of value addition to boost its own manufacturing sector," Khan explained.
While in South Africa, Clinton will continue her push for American companies to invest in Africa. She will also highlight U.S. efforts to facilitate the import of African goods through measures like the African Growth and Opportunities Act, which allows African countries to sell certain manufactured items into the U.S. quota-free and duty-free.
However, Khan said those efforts, while positive, have not yet had a "major influence." "Much more emphasis is needed in this area because unless Africa can diversify its export base, unless we do see greater value additions, most African economies are simply not going to be able to produce the formal sector jobs that their demographics imply they absolutely have to be creating," Khan added.
The African Development Bank and the United Nations have released joint reports this year on concerns that Africa＇s population boom coupled with its current trend of "jobless," commodities-based growth poses a serious risk to future security and stability.
Africa＇s youth population will not only double by 2045, the studies say, but it will also be better educated, yet less able to find work, if current trends continue.
Khan says increased trade will help Africans reap the benefits of their growing economies. "There is no question about it, that one way to lift a greater number of people out of poverty is to have more economic activity," Khan stated. "And that is made easier through increased trade. It really doesn＇t matter whether that trade is with the East or with the West."
Earlier Monday, Clinton met privately with former South African president Nelson Mandela at his home in the city of Qunu. The former president recently turned 94 and rarely makes public appearances. |
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