AIDE MEMOIRE THE SECOND AFRICA-EUROPE BUSINESS FORUM, ACCRA, GHANA, 21-22 JUNE, 2007 The Commission of the African Union has the pleasure to announce that the Second EU-Africa Business Forum is scheduled to take place in Accra, Ghana, on 21-22 June, 2007. This is an annual event, jointly organised by the AU Commission and the European Commission. Objectives The African Union and the European Union have institutionalised the Forum as part of efforts to improve the environment for business and increase investment in Africa. The objectives of the Forum, held alternately between Africa and Europe, are three-fold, namely: Influence improvements in the business and investment climate in Africa through enhanced governance, capacity building and policy coherence in order to render business and investment in Africa easier and more attractive; Give a voice to the private sector through the opportunity to dialogue directly with the African Union Commission and the European Commission, and indirectly with the African Governments and regional organizations with which the two Commissions maintain a permanent dialogue; and Make Africa more attractive to the European private sector by providing a more accurate and positive image of the continent as a place for business and investment.
The first Forum was held in Brussels, on 16-17 November, 2006, and it was a resounding success. At the end of the Forum, participants came up with a private sector declaration as well as a set of recommendations on ways of improving Africa’s business climate. Discussion topics for the Forum The second Forum will examine progress achieved in respect of the recommendations of the first Forum with a view to addressing any identified bottlenecks as well as the following three topics, all of which are key to the enhancement of business development in Africa: Interconnectivity – covering all infrastructure required for the efficient functioning of business and reducing transaction costs or the cost of doing business;
Trade issues – covering all aspects, including standards and quality of products, tariff and non-tariff barriers, trade facilitation as well as means of addressing these issues; and Entrepreneurship – covering the main aspects of business creation and development, entrepreneurship development, corporate governance and corporate social responsibility, vocational training, investment issues, to name a few.
The discussion papers, currently being prepared by the private sector, will be placed on the website, once finalised. Who will attend? It is expected that the Forum will be attended by African and European business leaders representing multi-nationals, large corporations, small and medium-scale enterprises and confederations, multilateral and regional institutions such as the International Finance Corporation/World Bank, Economic Commission for Africa, NEPAD Secretariat, Africa Caribbean Pacific Secretariat, African Development Bank, European Investment Bank, Centre for Development of Enterprise, European Development Finance Institutions, African Development Finance Institutions, African Business Roundtable, Infrastructure Consortium for Africa, Investment Climate Facility and the African Regional Economic Communities. Expected outcome As in the first Forum, the key outcome will be a private sector declaration with a set of recommendations, which will be presented to the policy makers of the African and European Unions. Venue The venue of the Forum is Accra International Conference Centre, Accra, Ghana. Logistical arrangements Information on logistical arrangements for the Forum, such as hotels, transport arrangements, and conference venue information will be placed on the website soon. All those interested in attending the Forum are kindly requested to contact: Mr. Fudzai Pamacheche or Mr. Baboucarr Koma of the Private Sector Development, Investment and Resource Mobilization Division of the African Union Commission by email: PamachecheF@africa-union.org, KomaB@africa-union.org, Telephone +251 11 551 6106, Fax: +251 11 551 0249. Information on the Forum can be obtained from: www.europe-cares.org/africa/business_forum_en.html or www.africa-union.org. Cost of participation Participation at the Forum is at own cost, with the exception of a selected number of African Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs).