U.S. Official Cites Importance of Upcoming African Ministers Conference

Kansteiner tells VOA's "Africa Journal" about AGOA meeting

Washington - Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Walter Kansteiner says he looks forward to hosting African trade and finance ministers at a Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum in late October--a byproduct of the historic African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) passed by Congress last May.

Several months ago Kansteiner, in an interview on the Voice of America's (VOA) television call-in program "African Journal," indicated that "this meeting is the first of its kind" and that "all 35 countries that are AGOA-approved" have been invited. He added that "President Bush will welcome them and Secretary of State Colin Powell will also probably be involved."

Aimed at spurring development in sub-Saharan Africa, AGOA confers non-quota, duty free entry of a range of African-made goods, such as textiles, into the U.S. market from countries adhering to open-market reforms. Thus far, 35 nations on the continent have been deemed eligible for the trade benefits.

"Two-way trade is vital for us as well as countries in sub-Saharan Africa," Kansteiner said, and "so, we have got to open and keep our markets open to African countries. At the same time, he added that AGOA "has got to benefit small-and medium-sized businesses if it's going to work."

Kansteiner explained that high among the "things we really want to achieve" at the meeting is "to demonstrate to the AGOA countries what exactly are the opportunities available to them as far as U.S. markets are concerned. The United States is a multi-faceted and complicated market to be selling your goods in, so what we want to do is have some workshops to help them understand" how to operate in that environment.

Last May when President Bush announced the coming meeting, he said "we Americans want to be more than spectators of Africa's progress. We want to encourage a brighter future through policies that nurture and support freedom and democratic reform. The Forum will discuss further measures we can take to stimulate trade [and] to develop prosperity."

When Kansteiner advises African governments to nurture their private sectors in order to revitalize their flagging economies, he speaks from experience as a farmer and businessman who has traded commodities like sugar and cocoa with the developing world.

A founding member of the Scowcroft Group -- the international consulting firm started by former National Security Council Adviser General Brent Scowcroft -- Kansteiner has also advised African corporations on mergers and privatization, including the $1,300 million privatization of Telcom South Africa, before he entered government service only a month ago.

The official clarified the Bush administration's economic policy toward Africa, as well as his own background as a farmer, during his VOA interview.

Asked about policy differences toward Africa between the Clinton and Bush administrations, Kansteiner said "while we share a lot of the same goals....our [Bush's] emphasis right now is on the private sector. We think it's good for businesses in the United States and for businesses in Africa and for entrepreneurs on each of the continents" to be at the center of economic development. After all, he said, "they are the ones making the direct equity investments [and] doing portfolio investments."

On the U.S. side, Kansteiner said "ultimately it's going to be the American risk taker in this case who is going to make the decision saying 'I'm going to go for it. I'm going to try to make this investment in Africa.'"

Kansteiner acknowledged that such business decisions were made against a background of returns of investment (ROIs) in Africa that range in the twenty percentile -- one of the highest ROIs of any region in the world.

The official stressed that "our job in government is to facilitate that private-sector effort." U.S. government agencies he mentioned that help U.S. investors connect with African businesses included: the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), Export-Import Bank and Trade and Development Agency (TDA). Another Bush goal, he said, is "to fully staff and fund those" organizations.

Asked about his success as a gentleman farmer, Kansteiner, who in his spare time helps raise sheep, goats and cattle on his working farm outside Washington, laughingly said "Well, you know what they say about 'how do you make a small fortune in farming? Start with a large one [fortune]'."

On a more serious note, Kansteiner emphasized that if African governments want to compete successfully in global markets, it is critical that they focus as much as possible on creating an environment conducive to both internal as well as foreign investment. He added that one such idea, "the notion of a common market in Africa" being actively considered by the Organization of African Unity (OAU), is "tremendous." The official stressed that "we need to support that [idea]. We're anxious to help and I think we can,"