President Clinton, Leading Experts on Africa Highlight Third Annual Opportunity: Africa Conference

Press Release

U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, hosted more than 1,200 attendees Monday at the third annual Opportunity: Africa conference at the Chase Center on the Riverfront. The conference, highlighted by former President Bill Clinton's keynote address, brought Delaware businesses, faith communities, and individuals together with top experts on Africa to share insights on trade opportunities and issues including human rights challenges, sustainable development, food security, and global health.

This year's conference focused on the key opportunities and challenges facing Africa today: addressing energy poverty, promoting business development, combatting wildlife trafficking, and empowering women leaders.

"When I began hosting this conference two years ago, I did so with the intention of uniting Delawareans focused on Africa, to help connect and cultivate the community among us," said Senator Coons. "Today, a diverse group of individuals from five different countries and 18 different states came together to hear from some of the most extraordinary experts, including former President Bill Clinton, about the incredible opportunities and ongoing challenges presented by the continent of the 21st century -- Africa."

The Clinton Foundation invests heavily in programs to strengthen African health systems and expand access to lifesaving treatments; to provide African farmers with the tools they need to increase their incomes and strengthen their communities; and to address climate change by working to improve energy efficiency, reverse deforestation, and help cities to develop sustainably.

While in the White House, President Clinton signed into law the landmark African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which has supported the growth of an African middle class, reduced dependence on development assistance, and further opened African markets to American companies.

President Clinton discussed some of the key issues impacting Africa and how the United States can be a force for growth and empowerment on the continent. He cited the impact the U.S. has already made through AGOA and efforts to expand access to HIV/AIDS treatment, and emphasized the important work that must continue to expand access to opportunity, improve agricultural productivity, and combat the crisis of wildlife trafficking throughout Africa.

"My belief is that we live in an interdependent world that is full of possibilities, but that the world we live in is being severely constrained by too much inequality -- inequality in access to education and healthcare, employment, training, and capital -- and by too much insecurity, " President Clinton said.

Despite the security challenges we face across the continent, Clinton said, "we dare not let ethnic and tribal conflicts overwhelm the staggering human potential in Africa."

"No American official has demonstrated a greater commitment to Africa than President Bill Clinton, whose leadership on health, gender equality, trade, and food security began with his presidency and continues today with the Clinton Global Initiative and Clinton Foundation," said Senator Coons.

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