ABIDJAN – The ILO Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Africa, Aeneas Chapinga Chuma will attend the 2016 African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Labour and Trade Ministerial Roundtable, to be held from 22-23 September in Washington, D.C., USA.
The event, organised for the first time in the context of AGOA, bring together trade and labour ministers from sub-Saharan Africa, as well as African and American leaders in the private sector, civil society and international organisations to discuss challenges and opportunities of the current trade and investment relations as well as potentials for future engagement.
From 22-23 September 2016, Mr Chuma will participate in the US DoL-sponsored Ministerial Meetings and dialogue on how to “support greater African government policy coordination that advances internationally recognized worker rights and sustainable economic development in the context of trade and investment”.
On 26 September, the ILO Director for Africa will attend the official inauguration of the AGOA Forum, at the U.S. Department of State, in Washington, D.C. under this year’s theme: “Maximizing AGOA Now while preparing for the Future beyond AGOA.”
Following the Labour and Trade Ministerial Roundtable, participating Trade and Labour Ministers will provide a Ministerial joint statement at the broader AGOA Forum.
The AGOA Forum is timed to follow the President’s second U.S.-Africa Business Forum (USABF), which will take place in New York City on September 21.
Background information
The United States will host the fifteenth annual U.S.-sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum. The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is the U.S. government's signature trade initiative with sub-Saharan Africa. The AGOA legislation mandates the annual AGOA Forum to foster close economic ties between the United States and its partners in sub-Saharan Africa.
For more information, please contact The Regional Office for Africa - [email protected]
