The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.
5/5/2020 Deputy Secretary Raskin Concludes Africa Visit U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Press Center Deputy Secretary Raskin Concludes Africa Visit 5/23/2014 At the 49th African Development Bank Annual Meetings, Deputy Secretary Raskin Underscores the Continued U.S. Commitment to Broadening and Strengthening Economic Growth in Africa WASHINGTON – Underscoring U.S. commitment to strengthening and broadening economic growth in Africa, Treasury Deputy Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin today led the U.S. delegation to the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) Annual Meetings in Kigali, Rwanda. The meetings marked the culmination of Deputy Secretary Raskin’s two-day visit to Rwanda, and the first international trip of her Treasury tenure. The Obama Administration, with the international community, has launched a number of African initiatives to achieve concrete goals. These include investing in power to help spur economic growth, boosting agriculture to improve food security, deepening trade to foster development, and supporting Africa’s next generation of leaders. In line with these efforts, Deputy Secretary Raskin hosted a roundtable on Wednesday with business leaders from African nations and key international financial institutions to discuss President Obama’s Power Africa initiative, which seeks to spur governance, power sector, and investment climate reforms, bring online 10,000 megawatts of additional power, and connect 20 million new households and businesses to reliable power over the next five years. “Africa is undergoing dramatic change, and with its young and growing workforce, expanding marketplace, and rich resource base, it offers tremendous economic opportunities,” said Deputy Treasury Secretary Raskin. “With these new opportunities come new challenges. As African leaders work to address them, the United States stands as a willing partner to help build inclusive growth that supports critical investments in infrastructure, institutions, and in Africa’s greatest resource – its people.” While in Kigali, Deputy Secretary Raskin visited Rwandan programs supported by the the AfDB. On Wednesday, she toured the Rugobagoba Milk Collection Center, an initiative launched by the Government of Rwanda that has bolstered milk production and helped increase household incomes. On Thursday, the Deputy Secretary visited the production facility of Nice Dream Candles, a small business supported by the AfDB’s “Skills, Employability, and Entrepreneurship Program,” which helps promote Rwanda’s efforts to address the skills gap in the labor market and spur entrepreneurial development. In her site visits to AfDB-supported initiatives, as well as her conversations with African leaders across the public and private sectors, Deputy Secretary Raskin highlighted the importance of U.S. partnerships that support African development, trade, and investment. In a meeting with students from Carnegie Mellon University-Rwanda, Deputy Secretary Raskin emphasized the importance of higher education, including the fields of information communications and technology, in preparing the next generation of technology leaders. Deputy Secretary Raskin also met with AfDB President Dr. Donald Kaberuka and held a series of bilateral discussions with top African government officials, including Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Rwandan Finance Minister Claver Gatete, and Rwandan Central Bank Governor John Rwangombwa. Deputy Secretary Raskin began her trip by observing a moment of silence and laying a wreath at the site of a mass grave at the Kigali Memorial Centre, which was created to commemorate the victims of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. To read the United States Statement at the 49th Annual Meeting of the African Development Bank click here. ### https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl2410.aspx 1/2 5/5/2020 Deputy Secretary Raskin Concludes Africa Visit https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl2410.aspx 2/2
@FedFRASER