VZCZCXRO0324
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHDS #2963/01 3521351
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 181351Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7208
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 8009

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ADDIS ABABA 002963 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/RSA, AF/EPS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EFIN ETRD PREL AU
SUBJECT: USAU: AFRICA ECONOMIC CONFERENCE REITERATES 
SUPPORT FOR AFRICAN UNITY, SELF-RELIANCE 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: The UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) 
and the African Development Bank (AfDB) hosted the Africa 
Economic Conference (AEC) in November at UNECA headquarters 
in Addis Ababa.  Conference participants, including African 
leadership, expressed unanimous support for pan-African 
institutions, which they view as key to the maturation of 
Africa,s political climate, as well as the growing ability 
of Africans to speak with a single voice.  African unity, 
economic integration, and self-reliance as paths to 
prosperity emerged as major conference themes.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) The opening of the AEC underscored the need for Africa 
to position itself in its relationship with the developed 
world to achieve maximum benefit and avoid collateral damage. 
 In his remarks, UNECA Executive Secretary Abdoulie Janneh 
reflected on the year, noting the effect of the financial 
crisis, and stressing the need for African ownership of the 
continent,s development, including by avoiding excessive 
dependence on Official Development Assistance.  While 
recognizing that Africa has suffered secondary effects from 
the crisis, such as reduced export earnings, he highlighted 
the accompanying opportunity to focus on Africa,s agenda for 
its own development.  Referencing differences in the economic 
measures appropriate for developed and developing economies, 
he suggested the need for active public engagement to develop 
industrial capacity in African economies, enabling them to 
expand beyond extractive sectors and increase employment 
along with growth.  Janneh also focused on the issue of 
climate change, and the need for developed countries, 
responsible for the crisis, to support Africa through 
"equitable and predictable financing mechanisms." 
 
¶3. (U) AfDB President Donald Kaberuka reiterated many of the 
same messages, stressing the need for African regional 
solutions to economic development in the current climate 
which, he theorized, might lead donor countries to focus on 
domestic concerns.  He stressed the role of the AfDB in 
mitigating the effects of the crisis on Africa, responding to 
the urging of the G20 to scale up operations, increasing 
lending, and innovating in new areas such as trade finance. 
He noted the importance of diversified economies for 
surviving such economic crises, and urged African countries 
to expand beyond commodity dependence.  Kaberuka also called 
upon the world to look at Africa as a part of the solution to 
the economic crisis, with the potential to stimulate global 
consumer demand.  India and Africa, he noted, share the same 
approximate population (1 billion) with nearly the same level 
of reserves ($280 million).  The difference, he said, is that 
India is a federation, while Africa is a "balkanized" group 
of 53 member states with growing, but limited, economic 
integration.  He noted that while Africa calls for a strong 
voice in the international arena on issues such as climate 
change, this voice should be based on a strong internal 
agenda. 
 
¶4. (U) African Union Commission Chairperson Jean Ping focused 
his remarks on the expanding role for Africa in the G20, 
including attendance of Prime Minister of Ethiopia Meles 
Zenawi, as well as Janneh, Kaberuka, and himself.  While 
acknowledging that the world now realizes that Africa cannot 
be ignored, he noted that Africa needs to rely on its own 
resources and capacities.  Reflecting on the levels of 
financing provided to bank bailouts in the U.S., he said that 
the real question is not the availability of resources to 
eradicate poverty, but the political will to do so.  His 
comments also addressed the need for Africa to expand 
partnership with different countries and regional groupings, 
with a clear focus on Africa,s expanding partnership with 
China. 
 
¶5. (U) Prime Minister Meles delivered the conference's 
keynote address, focusing on the question of whether it is 
possible to foster development in an age of economic crisis. 
He concluded that such growth during the current phase is 
improbable, but not impossible, and that African 
policy-makers' role is to advance measures "to make the 
possible probable."  His speech focused substantial attention 
on the origins of the crisis, especially the role of poor 
financial governance in the West, unsustainable consumption 
levels among U.S. consumers, and limited oil supplies. 
(NOTE: With regard to oil, he also noted the associated 
environmental problems, and the issue of climate change, 
which, he stressed, could lead to "environmental catastrophe, 
not growth."  END NOTE.)  He highlighted the food crisis in 
2008, pressure on development aid, shrinking remittances, and 
reduced foreign direct investment, noting that the 
circumstances that allowed for progress in reducing poverty 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00002963  002 OF 002 
 
 
in recent years have changed. 
 
¶6. (U) Meles further focused on possible opportunities that 
the current crisis presents.  In the event of a robust global 
response to climate change, he said that Africa could have an 
important niche in the global market, fueling growth, given 
the continent's vast renewable energy resources.  This would 
also require substantial resources for Africa to promote 
adaptation.  In addition, he focused on the possibility of 
China -- and perhaps Japan, the Gulf states, and India -- 
investing surplus savings in Africa.  Meles discussed the 
possibility of African states taking a range of steps to 
capitalize on the potential opportunities presented by the 
global economy, including by throwing off the 
"straight-jacket of neoliberalism." 
 
¶7. (U) COMMENT:  The AEC represented a strong showing of 
policy-makers and academics concerned with issues of economic 
growth in Africa, with near unanimous delivery of a message 
in support of African unity, self-reliance, and empowerment 
on economic issues.  Policy-makers showed strong interest in 
developing the appropriate incentives to advance industrial 
development and sustainable, job-creating, economic growth in 
Africa.  While substantial attention has been paid to 
relationships with the European Union and China surrounding 
trade and investment relations, there was limited discussion 
of USG engagement through avenues such as the Africa Growth 
and Opportunity Act (AGOA) forum.  It may be worthwhile for 
the USG to explore greater leadership on technical and policy 
issues in the context of the next AEC.  END COMMENT. 
MUSHINGI