Angola’s capital, Luanda, is to host next year’s US-Africa Business Summit, the board of the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), an organisation made up of US businesses who invest in Africa or are interested in doing so, announced on Tuesday.
Following a meeting between the leaders of the CCA and Angola’s the president, João Lourenço, that took place during this year’s US-Africa Business Summit in Dallas in May, “a memorandum of understanding was developed and signed today in Washington by the Angolan ambassador to the United States and the president and executive director of the CCA, Florie Liser, to formalise this important collaboration,” reads the statement sent to Lusa.
According to the text, the summit that will take place in 2025 in Luanda “is recognised as one of the most important business platforms that annually brings together African heads of state and ministers, US government members and leaders of the main agencies, as well as presidents and leaders of American companies, to foster investment, trade and commercial collaboration.”
Tuesday’s communiqué confirms the news published on Monday by Lusa, which quoted Africa Report magazine as saying that the decision had already been taken, with only the formalisation by the two entities lacking.
The 2025 business summit is taking place in a particularly important year for Angola, as it celebrates the 30th anniversary of relations with the US, the 50th anniversary of its declaration of independence from Portugal; it will also be holding the rotating presidency of the African Union.
“Thus, co-organising and hosting the US-Africa business summit during such an important year underlines Angola’s firm commitment to promoting a new phase, as well as strengthening economic ties between Africa and the United States,” the statement adds.
According to CCA president and CEO Florie Liser, quoted in the statement, the choice of the Portuguese-language country to host next year’s summit “shows not only Angola’s economic potential and its strategic importance as a leader in Africa, but also recognises the growing importance of the African continent as a strategic economic, commercial and business partner for the US government and the private sector.”
The 2025 summit is expected to attract more than 1,500 people, including heads of state, members of the US government, investors, business leaders and entrepreneurs, who will attend plenary sessions, discussion forums, investment sessions, networking opportunities and an exhibition of innovative products and services, according to the organisation.
Lusa
