June 2004
Angola emerged from colonialism in 1975, only to enter 27 years of internal strife. Since 2002, when the civil war ended, Angola has worked to join its place among world trading powers. It is rich in oil, diamonds, iron, minerals and seafood from its coast, and its rich land provides a multitude of agricultural products. But many of its people remain poor and undereducated.
Ms. Diakite urged the support, investment and tourism of the international community.
Ms. Masekela spoke with pride of the rapid advancements of women and black Africans in South Africa since the end of apartheid. The nation is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its democracy.
“In South Africa, we walk very high with pride,” she said. However, unemployment is high and, although more than 1.5 million homes have been built for the poor, much remains to be accomplished.
She also invited international visitors and investment, but urged individuals and communities to invest on a personal level; for example, a community might adopt a school or an AIDS orphanage; of its 45 million people, five million are infected with the virus that causes AIDS. Such connections foster human relations – more important, even, than trade, she said.
Algeria, the second largest country in Africa (after Sudan), has the third largest economy (after South Africa and Egypt).
Mr. Jazairy said that after its 1954-62 war of liberation from France, and after a period of terrorist violence in the 1990s, Algeria is now stable and safe.
Speaking of the entire continent, he said that 40 percent of African people have no access to education and half do not have safe drinking water. Some 300 million live on less than $1 a day; of the world’s poor, 40 percent live in Africa. Due to AIDS, the African life expectancy has declined from 50 to 47. In an overpopulated continent, just 13 percent of women have access to contraceptives.
He said a “new cold war” has stymied development of African potential, and the peace dividend that was promised when various wars and unrest ended has not materialized. Due to international monetary policy, subsidies, tariffs and trade regulations, African commodities such as sugar and coffee do not generate the income for Africans that they should; he said that coffee producers in Vietnam and elsewhere dramatically undercut African prices, hurting growers there. He said Africa should become a source for the U.S. of markets and energy.
“It’s a continent that holds a lot of promise, but it’s a continent that needs support,” he said.
The ambassadors also were guests at a breakfast with the business community at the World Trade Center / Cleveland.
Professor Harvey Hopson of the B-W Business Division arranged their visit, in conjunction with a Baldwin-Wallace goal of fostering opportunities for students and for the public to learn about the international economy and how it affects the Northeast Ohio region.
275 Eastland Rd.