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Posted on: Tuesday, September 01, 2009, 02:44PM
Posted by: Anonymous User

Dear COMTO Members

Africa! What a paradox - a Continent with rich history and natural resources and limited economic development. This trip as with other trips I take to Africa draws mixed emotions. It brings out a feeling of joy and excitement to return to the continent I was born and raised as child, at the same time, I'm painfully aware of the unfilled potential of the continent and the opportunities that remain to be tapped and aligned for the welfare of the people of the continent.

This trip with COMTO family represented a first for me; traveling for the first time to East Africa and with some on the trip that have not visited the continent before. I wondered how the story would unfold. Would the delegation feel "at home" in Africa, would the interactions between the East African Community and US delegates be warm, real, engaging and productive? I was elated to see the strong bond of friendship, respect, warmth, eagerness to learn from each other and the readiness to explore ways to deepen the relationship between the US delegation and the EAC officials. What a beautiful sight to behold!

EAC delegates were very receptive to the ideas presented at the conference by the various COMTO members and the other US presenters. I was particularly struck by the number of US and other international bodies that were at the conference and operating in East Africa and the breath of issues they cover. The organizations at the conference include; USAID, USTDA, MCC, African Development Bank (ADB), and World Bank. Taken together, they represent new business opportunity for COMTO members, particularly the HUBs, if the risk of doing business in this part of the world is clearly understood and appropriate mitigation measures are developed to account for the risks.

I was encouraged by the positive responses to my Thursday luncheon remarks on the U.S Africa Partnership in Developing Sustainable Transportation Systems. The remarks focused on exploring a win - win strategy that maximizes US interests (genuine friendship, improved trade, national security) and the African interests in rising to its fullest potential with emphasis in Human and Institutional Capacity development and knowledge transfer.

Sincerely,

Dr. Adiele Nwankwo