美国国务卿希拉里·克林顿在第九届非洲增长论坛上的讲话（英文版）

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

At the 2010 AGOA Forum

On U.S.-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation

August 3, 2010

The Ronald Reagan Building

Washington, D.C.

SECRETARY CLINTON:  Well, good afternoon, and thank you very much, Under Secretary Bob Hormats, for your introduction and for your leadership on these important issues.  And it is a great personal pleasure for me to welcome all of you to Washington.  Last year, I had the honor of addressing the eighth AGOA Forum in Nairobi, so I am pleased to have this opportunity to return the warm hospitality that I enjoyed, not just in Kenya, but across Africa on my most recent trip.

But I do have one piece of business that I want to get out of the way right at the top.  When I was in Nairobi last year, a very nice man offered 40 goats and a number of cows for the chance to marry my daughter.  (Laughter.)  Now, apparently, he had made the same offer to my husband five years before.  (Laughter.)  But as of this weekend, I can now say with great certainty my daughter is officially off the market.  (Laughter, applause.)

I must say that my trip across Africa last summer offered me an opportunity to meet with leaders and citizens from all walks of life.  And for me, that visit was a really important turning point, because coming as it did on the heels of President Obama’s very important speech in Ghana, it was a reaffirmation of this Administration’s commitment to appreciate Africa even more fully in its promise and its potential for the future.

In Kenya, I met researchers developing seeds and agricultural techniques that could feed millions of hungry people.  In South Africa, I visited a group of women who had been homeless when I first met them years before, but have now built a thriving community where there was once only a dusty patch of land for squatters.  And in Liberia, I saw one-time adversaries sitting side-by-side in the parliament of a unified nation, working together for a better future.

In place after place, the hope and progress that I saw are, every day, sweeping away old stereotypes and offering the world a new view of Africa.  In small villages and sprawling cities across that great and diverse continent, poverty, conflict, and corruption are giving a way to opportunity, stability, and democracy.  For example, in the last 10 years, child mortality rates have declined while primary school enrollment has increased.  More people have gained access to clean water and fewer have died in violent conflicts.  More than 315 million people began using mobile phones.  And every day, 21st century technology is creating new opportunities and unlocking untapped potential.

Even after the global financial crisis, Africa’s economy is expected to grow at a rate of 4.5 percent next year, faster than Latin America’s, Central Asia’s, Europe’s, or the United States.  All of these numbers tell the story of a continent on the rise.  And this is a story that needs to be told.  It needs to be shouted from the rooftops.  Africa is open for business and ready to grow.  (Applause.)  As President Obama said in Ghana last year, this is a new moment of great promise.

Now, this progress is the result of the hard work, talent, and determination by people and governments across Africa.  Last year alone, two-thirds of Sub-Saharan African nations implemented reforms to improve their business climates.  More responsible fiscal policies coupled with increased political stability and rising productivity has spurred both growth and attracted investment.  The AGOA partnership has helped a growing number of African businesses build on this success at home and reach new markets abroad.  Major international corporations are opening new offices in African capitals and opening their eyes to the continent’s investment potential.

But we all know, despite the best of intentions, AGOA has achieved only modest results and has not lived up to the highest hopes of a decade ago.  We are working to increase trade with Africa in nonpetroleum goods, but there is a long way to go.  Petroleum products still account for the vast majority of exports to the United States, and we have not yet seen the diversification of growth of exports that AGOA was expected to spur.  So as we praise Africa’s progress, we must at the same time be clear-eyed about the challenges that persist. 

Last year, I met with refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a cycle of conflict has left millions of people dead and spawned an epidemic of sexual and gender-based violence.  When I visited Nigeria, a country that is one of the world’s leading suppliers of oil and gas, I heard from concerned citizens how more people are now living in poverty than were 10 years ago.  Sub-Saharan Africa comprises 12 percent of the world’s population, but accounts for less than 2 percent of global GDP.  And on some millennium development goal targets, such as combating disease, Africa has actually lost ground in recent years.

These challenges are therefore real and they must be addressed if together, we’re going to unlock Africa’s vast potential.  But to borrow an old phrase, there is nothing wrong with Africa that cannot be cured by what is right with Africa.  And the United States is committed to being a friend and a partner in doing just that.  We believe in Africa’s promise and we are committed to Africa’s future. 

Under President Obama’s leadership, the United States is taking a new approach in Africa rooted in partnership, not patronage.  That means we are looking for sustainable strategies that help nations build capacity and take responsibility, that give people the tools they need to help themselves and their communities, that empower problem-solvers at the local and regional levels, be they entrepreneurs, NGOs, or governments themselves.  We are also working to integrate our trade and development strategies with greater emphasis on bottom-up, locally driven solutions, fostering regional markets within Africa, boosting trade and aid effectiveness, and working with partner governments to promote structural reforms and gradual market liberalization.