Thursday, September 2, 2004
J. Joseph Grandmaison, Member, Board of Directors
Export-Import Bank of the United States

Press Conference Remarks for the Increasing Capital Flows to Africa Conference

The Export-Import Bank of the United States is proud to have partnered with the Corporate Council on Africa-the preeminent U.S.-Africa trade association-in developing an extraordinary conference on "Increasing Capital Flows to Africa". While Ex-Im Bank's mission is to support U.S. exports, Ex-Im Bank understands the need for increased capital flows to Africa, which will give African businesses and governments the ability to obtain the U.S. equipment and expertise necessary to further develop their infrastructure.

Ex-Im Bank helped organize the conference by developing the Investment and Project Opportunities portion of the conference, which will be a plenary session on the first day of the conference designed to feature ten or a dozen priority projects on the continent. Project sponsors will have about 5-7 minutes to present their projects at a plenary session, having had their projects already presented in a booklet handed out to attendees prior to and at the conference itself. One-on-ones meetings will be organized throughout the remainder of the conference. 

Ex-Im Bank also organized the Project/Structured Trade Finance panel, which will detail special financing options for larger projects.

In addition to organizing these two sessions of the conference, Ex-Im Bank also worked very hard to build African participation. Ex-Im Bank worked closely with U.S. Embassies throughout Africa to identify key financial institutions, companies, and government officials to invite. This tremendous effort will provide Ex-Im Bank and U.S. attendees with an excellent opportunity to network with key public and private sector players on the continent.

Ex-Im Bank is committed to furthering U.S. trade with the region. Last year, Ex-Im Bank helped finance a record $700 million in U.S. exports to sub-Saharan Africa and another $100 million to the countries of the Maghreb. Overall, U.S. exports to Africa increased by about 7 percent in 2003 to about $11 billion, and African exports to the United States increased by about 45 percent to approximately $32 billion.

The U.S. Government places a high priority on Africa. This is evident from the extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the selection of eight African countries as eligible for U.S. development assistance funds under the Millennium Challenge Account, and through U.S. contributions to combat HIV/AIDS on the continent.

Now we would like to take your questions.