João Lourenço, who is also the president of the African Union, was speaking this Monday at the official opening of the 17th United States of America-Africa Business Summit, which runs until Wednesday and is being attended by the presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, of Gabon, Brice Nguema, of Namibia, Nedemupelila Nandi-Ndaitwah, and of Botswana, Duma Boko, as well as African heads of government.
According to the president, over the last few decades, the American presence in Africa has evolved, from a presence marked mainly by aid, to one increasingly focused on private investment, innovation and the construction of robust partnerships.
For João Lourenço, investments are also needed in the iron and steel, aluminum, cement, agriculture, shipbuilding, automobile and tourism industries.
African governments are prepared to facilitate business for North American entrepreneurs, and the African private sector is ready to build alliances that generate profits, but also shared prosperity, said the President of the Republic.
The Head of State also considered that economic ties between Africa and the United States of America have the potential to grow significantly, highlighting that opportunities for direct private investment are in key areas that correspond to both the continent's priorities and the comparative advantages of North American companies.
João Lourenço highlighted the areas of renewable energy, agro-industry and food security, "given the availability of millions of hectares of arable land, abundant water resources, good climate, a large supply of young workers and a growing need for technological modernization and digital technologies, where African innovation intersects with American investment capacity to create scalable solutions".
"We also highlight strategic minerals, including those that are critical to the global energy transition, whose responsible exploitation can transform our economies and societies," João Lourenço said.
According to the President, in this regard, Africa expects more than capital, counting on partnerships that are in line with the sovereignty of its countries, that value local content, that promote the transfer of knowledge and that contribute to the generation of qualified jobs.
João Lourenço said that this forum should be seen as an important part of the economic relations between Africa and the United States of America.
"Africa is no longer just a continent with great potential for mineral wealth, water and forest resources, and unparalleled demographic growth; it is increasingly a continent of transformative decisions and concrete projects," he said.
He added that the African continent intends to and is working to electrify and industrialise its countries, adding value to raw materials and increasing the supply of jobs, in order to avoid the exodus of young Africans who constitute the largest asset and who make "the dangerous and humiliating crossing of the Mediterranean to Europe and other places in search of employment and living conditions".
"From the north to the south and from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, structural investments are multiplying and are shaping a new African economic panorama, from the Lobito Corridor, which will link the port of Lobito in the Atlantic Ocean by rail to the port of Dar-Es-Salaam in the Indian Ocean and promises to transform intra-African and intercontinental trade, to the special economic zones expanding on the continent, and to the ongoing initiatives to develop regional value chains in sectors such as critical minerals, agriculture and energy, to name just a few", he stressed.
According to João Lourenço, the digital transformation of the African continent "is underway and at great speed".
"In a world marked by persistent geopolitical instability from Eastern Europe to the Middle East, the African continent, despite some localized pockets of armed conflict or political tension, asserts itself as a partner of stability and long-term vision", he said.
"External circumstances further reinforce the urgency of deepening our ties of trust, economic cooperation and strategic security, in which the role of the United States of America is essential, given its unique role on a global scale", added the head of state.
