Following are remarks by Susan E. Rice, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, at
the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Washington, D.C., January 28, 1998(as prepared for delivery):
“The Road To Stronger U.S.-African Ties”
Ladies and gentlemen, President Helmke, Chairman Webb, mayors, fellow colleagues in the administration.
Thank you for inviting me and giving me this opportunity to share my thoughts with you about strengthening
our ties to Africa.
Let me begin by emphasizing that our relations with Africa hold important benefits for the United States.
Certainly our historic, cultural, and humanitarian ties to Africa should motivate us to engage actively with
the continent, but so, too, should cold, hard considerations of national interest.
Africa represents a huge, mostly untapped market of 600-700 million people. By the year 2000, four out of
five new consumers will be from what is now known as the developing world, and soon one billion of them will
be from Africa. Let us not forget the potential of this expanding market for creating American jobs.
Africa is a region of tremendous resources waiting to be tapped. It harbors vast mineral deposits, which
rival only those of our own continent. Africa accounts for nearly half of the world’s production of bauxite,
chromite, diamonds, and palladium, more than half of its cocoa and platinum, and nearly three-quarters of
its cobalt.
While today, 100,000 U.S. jobs depend on exports to Africa, this number will rise significantly as
Africans continue to buy more American goods and services. Their purchasing power is increasing as many
African nations liberalize their economies and begin to reap the benefits of free markets and economic
reform. Annual GDP growth in Africa now averages almost five percent.
Regions of stability conducive to investment have emerged throughout Africa as democracy spreads. During
the last decade, the number of democracies in sub-Saharan Africa has grown fivefold. While the
democratization process has not been as far-reaching as it could be and there have been setbacks, some 25
African states now enjoy a democratic form of government.
We have every reason, therefore, to forge stronger ties with the people of Africa. And the time to do so
could not be more propitious. While conflicts, coups, and corruption persist in some quarters, the larger
story is that of a wave of change rolling across the African continent as democratic and economic reforms
take root. As South Africa’s Deputy President Thabo Mbeki has said, we can rightfully
speak of an “African renaissance.”
A new generation of Africans are emerging who want to break with the failed economic and social policies
of the past and embrace a dynamic new future. They understand that self-reliance and civic engagement are
the keys to a better tomorrow and seek stronger links with the United States and the world in a spirit of
partnership, not dependency.
We want to respond to them and work with them as partners in promoting our mutual interest in building
democracy, safeguarding human rights, and generating the economic prosperity that will benefit Africans and
Americans alike.
The Clinton administration is committed to making this partnership flourish, but we need your help. We
must reach out not only on the level of our federal government but just as importantly on the state, county,
and local level.
There are many things that we can do in reaching out, and I would like to review some of them with you
here:
– First, work actively with Congress to pass the trade legislation entitled The Africa Growth and
Opportunity Act, which will give incentives to African nations to hold the course on economic reforms. This
legislation will be discussed at greater length in the next panel, but its passage is essential to much of
what we hope to achieve in Africa. The jobs that it will help create will benefit the citizens of cities
throughout America.
– Second, establish more sister city programs. If you don’t have a sister city program already with an
African city, consider initiating one. The very fact of knowing that they have a partner in America working
with them to deepen ties, share information and resources, and usher in a better future will not only
encourage your African counterparts, it will be an enriching experience for your communities as well.
– Third, create your own people-to-people exchange programs. Nothing fosters mutual understanding and
stronger relations more than direct people-to-people contact. When Africans come to America, they see for
themselves the fruits of an open society and free enterprise system and are energized to take the message
back home. When Americans go to Africa and see the widespread desire for a better life, they in turn are
more energized to help Africa’s experiment in democratic and economic reforms succeed. While the U.S.
Information Agency and other organizations have exchange programs, more are needed to meet the growing need.
Education is the key to any people’s future, and Africa is no exception. When an American school is
linked to an African school, the opportunities for exchanging information on a cultural, economic, and
political level are endless. This is one of the best ways to reach a new generation of Africans who will
take Africa into the 21st century. The possibilities are even more exciting when we contemplate the contacts
that can be made through the medium of the Internet.
It is not my intention here to list every kind of exchange or program on the community level that will contribute to stronger relations between Africa and the United States. I am sure that many of you have numerous ideas of your own. But I do want to underscore the importance of your role as ma
yors in fostering a new, energized approach to Africa that engages a cross section of America’s communities. Your contributions to strengthening the relations between the United States and African countries are a necessary complement to ours in the Clinton administration. We welcome a dialogue wit
h you on ways that we can collaborate and provide support as you pursue your initiatives.
I hope, therefore, that you will join with us in helping make our partnership with Africa grow and bear fruit. Let us reach out to the next generation of Africans from all walks and stations of life. Let us be resourceful in finding ways to meet with them, talk with them, and work with them. If
Africa achieves lift-off, then we all, Africans and Americans, stand to benefit.
Thank you.
Issued 29 January 1998
