Andrew Young Says Bush Administration is Tops for Africa

Former Carter Administration official says focus on business is winner

Flic en Flac, Mauritius - Former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young, now a successful international businessman in Atlanta, says President Bush's emphasis on commerce as the engine for change and prosperity in sub-Saharan Africa is right on target.

Young is part of the official U.S. delegation to the second U.S.-Sub-Saharan Trade and Economic Cooperation [AGOA] Forum led by U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Zoellick. He spoke on the last day of the January 13 to 17 conference that also included a large private sector component in addition to a separate meeting of civil society NGOs.

In an exclusive interview with the Washington File, the former U.N. Ambassador under President Jimmy Carter said, "President Bush's focus on Africa has been very good. We [the Carter Administration, 1977-1981] did what we were supposed to do, which was focus on human rights and democratization. But really, the first basic human rights of every human being on earth are the right to eat and the right to have a job, and this Administration is focusing on that. I'm really very, very pleased that they are, because the right to eat, work, and good health care are as basic human rights as the right to free speech, assembly and democratic elections. As a matter of fact, one [group of rights] doesn't work well without the other."

Commenting on the AGOA Forum, Young said, "It's been a very good conference. We've had good representation from all over Africa. People are serious, both in the private sector and in the governments, about making AGOA work. And it's led to all kinds of spin-off conversations about things like aviation and air trade and shipping. There has been a remarkable level of agreement. In fact, I have hardly heard a disagreement since I've been here."

The transportation tie-in was highlighted by a report released at the Forum by Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Aviation and International Affairs Susan McDermott that noted, "Direct air cargo service from Africa to the United States can be financially competitive with ocean shipping given the expected increase in volume and the additional costs of money, time, security, and insurance when comparing 24 hours by air versus five weeks by sea."

Young brings a wealth of background to these meetings: community leader, politician, diplomat and businessman. As an ordained minister he worked with the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights era, and in 2000-2001 he served as president of the National Council of Churches. Before being named by President Carter as U.N. Ambassador in 1977, Young served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives form Georgia. From 1981 to 1989, he was mayor of Atlanta, before founding the global consulting firm Goodworks International.

Commenting on potential deal-making among the 1,000 companies [200 American] who sent representatives to the Forum, Young said, "What I've seen or heard about is people who already have some type of connection to American companies looking around and American companies who are coming here looking for African partners."

Young said, "I met last night with a young man from Tanzania, who happened to be from Atlanta, but he's got a plant in Tanzania that's weaving Tanzanian fabric for export to Mauritius and South Africa."

According to the U.S. government, in the first eight months of 2002, U.S. imports of new, non-fuel AGOA products from the 38 eligible nations in sub-Saharan Africa increased by 155 percent to $998 million. At the same time, exports to the United States from every other region of the world decreased. Sectors primarily involved in the increase were: textiles and apparel, leather and leather products, and transportation equipment. The African nations with the highest export gains were: Senegal, Madagascar, Lesotho and Kenya.