[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 178 (Tuesday, November 22, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2111]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    A CONVERSATION BETWEEN CONGRESS AND THE AFRICAN DIPLOMATIC CORPS

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 22, 2011

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, last week, several 
Congressional colleagues and I convened the first House-Senate 
Conversation between Congress and the African Diplomatic Corps on 
African issues. This historic event was opened by me, House 
Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights Ranking Member 
Donald Payne, Senate Africa Subcommittee Chairman Christopher Coons and 
Senate Africa Subcommittee Ranking Member Johnny Isakson. We were 
joined during the event by Representative Karen Bass and Representative 
Bobby Rush.
  Democratic Republic of the Congo Ambassador Faida Mitifu presented a 
comprehensive overview of the African diplomatic corps on the African 
Growth and Opportunity Act, AGOA, and trade, agriculture and food 
security and energy and infrastructure. She also joined us in presiding 
over this session.
  Too often, we in Congress have only brief encounters with the African 
diplomats in Washington, and a fuller, ongoing interaction would be of 
help to both Members of Congress and diplomats in building U.S.-Africa 
relations that are mutually beneficial.
  In our Subcommittee hearings, we conduct oversight on issues of 
concern involving U.S. policy--often regarding individual countries. 
For troubled countries such as Sudan, Somalia, Cote d'Ivoire and 
Zimbabwe, such U.S. policy oversight is critical. However, the issues 
we are covering today require interactions that are more detailed and 
more sustained. Trade, agriculture and energy are important matters 
that call for the kind of discussions that go beyond an office visit or 
even today's dialogue.
  It is the hope of our members and the diplomatic corps that we can 
use this initial event as the beginning of ongoing discussions on how 
to make AGOA more broadly beneficial for the nearly 6,400 covered 
items, for example. We need to better understand how to overcome the 
obstacles to successful U.S.-Africa agricultural trade. One comment was 
repeated by several diplomats: further delay in passing legislation to 
extend AGOA's third-party fabric provision will send damaging mixed 
signals to investors.
  Africa's population of approximately 1 billion people has a growing 
consumer base that is capable of being a larger player in global trade. 
One out of every three Africans is now considered to be in the middle 
class. This rising middle class will enable both economic and political 
development in Africa. For the United States and other developed 
nations, these developments benefit us as well by providing an enhanced 
market for our products and allowing African countries a larger tax 
base that will lessen the need for foreign aid. More robust African 
economies are beneficial to the entire global economy.
  We also have to work more effectively to help African nations produce 
more energy for themselves and developed world consumers such as the 
United States. As Ambassador Mitifu pointed out in her opening 
statement, current trends indicate that less than half of Africa's 
population will have access to electricity by 2050. She and her 
colleagues called on our government to support such projects as the 
Grand Inga Dam project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which 
would contribute 39,000 megawatts for a continent-wide electricity 
grid.
  A major theme among the comments and questions by the diplomats who 
participated in this event was concern about security and a desire to 
partner with the United States in combating terrorism, trafficking in 
persons, the international drug trade, piracy and other criminal 
activity that affects the continent.
  As we all know, the United States faces a reduced ability to fund 
programs at previous levels. Consequently, we are working to ensure 
that the funds we do have are used as efficiently and effectively as 
possible. In order to maximize these goals, we must have a better idea 
of the actual needs of African societies. In everything we do together, 
there must be collaboration and the goal of mutual benefit. A win-win 
situation is sustainable, but programs aimed at only one beneficiary 
are not.
  Deciding for Africans what their needs may be is not an appropriate 
strategy. We need African governments to be stakeholders in whatever 
programs we fund, and that will not be likely if they are not consulted 
in advance. Better program targeting requires partnership, and we hope 
this session is part of the creation of an enhanced partnership between 
us.

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