U.S. Department of the Treasury

 

This is an exciting time to be in Africa.  Africa has been one of the bright spots in the global economy, and growth is likely to remain strong in the coming years.  East Africa, specifically, is making impressive progress on regional integration, infrastructure development, energy expansion, and economic reform and growth.   The U.S. government’s Doing Business in Africa project aims to strengthen our commercial relationship with Africa. 

 

President Obama highlighted the opportunities and challenges in this region—and the United States’ commitment to work to address these—when he visited Tanzania last year.  In August, President Obama hosted the U.S.–Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington, the largest event any U.S. President has held with African heads of state.  The Summit was a success in bringing together U.S. companies and African leaders, culminating in over $14 billion in commercial agreements. 

 

To improve the environment for businesses in Africa and create jobs and opportunity for the people of Africa, President Obama launched two key initiatives—Trade Africa here in Dar es Salaam, and Power Africa in Cape Town.  These initiatives tackle key constraints across Africa, improved infrastructure and policies for trade to flourish, and reliable electricity to power businesses and light homes.  The United States is committing over $8 billion to Power Africa to support energy sector reforms, investments in generation, and access across the continent. 

 

Through Trade Africa, the United States is seeking to tackle policy and infrastructure bottlenecks to trade, both within the region and with the rest of the world.  This is a whole-of-government initiative, with support for businesses and investors through the USAID's East Africa Trade Hub, Overseas Private Investment Corporation and Export-Import Bank financing, U.S. Trade and Development Authority’s feasibility studies, and other U.S. agencies.  The U.S. Treasury is working with Tanzania’s Ministry of Finance to improve its debt management, infrastructure finance, and revenue collection capacities.  I am happy to announce that we will soon be broadening our engagement with two more advisors to assist the Ministry with managing the budget and combatting illicit finance.  Last year, Treasury advisors completed assistance to the East African Community for implementing the East Africa Payment System, a key achievement in integrating East Africa’s regional financial sector.  While payments used to take more than a week, now Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania are using the new system, which makes cross-border payments nearly instantaneous, and Rwanda and Burundi are likely to join soon.

 

Earlier today, I discussed the importance of fighting corruption and streamlining administrative processes to improve the business climate.  They both reassured me on their priorities to support private sector economic growth, including by combatting corruption, reforming the electricity sector, and facilitating trade.

 

One cannot talk about trade in Tanzania without thinking about the Port of Dar es Salaam.  I stopped by the Port and saw first-hand the efforts to improve port operations and to support the region’s rapid trade growth. It is a clear example of how Trade Africa and Power Africa are supporting the infrastructure that helps move the goods to and from the port more efficiently. The Port is critical trade infrastructure, not only for the 49 million people of Tanzania, but also for tens of millions more in neighboring landlocked countries.  I discussed with the Port Manager and others the Port’s importance for private sector growth in Tanzania and the East African Community and how international donors and investors can work with the government to promote a world-class port.

 

The East African Community already leads Africa’s regional economic communities with 26 percent of all trade occurring within the region, and Trade Africa is supporting a holistic approach to facilitating trade.  This includes regional harmonization, capacity building, reducing non-tariff barriers, greater private sector dialogue, and a potential regional investment treaty.  Achieving these objectives will require continued support from a number of development partners.

 

As many of you probably know, the United States has teamed up with other major donors to support TradeMark East Africa, which is supporting infrastructure and reforms across the region.  In Tanzania, TradeMark East Africa is improving border posts and monitoring non-tariff barriers, amongst other activities. 

 

The United States is a leading contributor to the World Bank and the African Development Bank, which are both financing infrastructure and policy reforms across the East African Community.  Combined, the two banks lend Tanzania about $1 billion per year, across a breadth of sectors.  Over the next two years, they will commit about $1 billion to power and trade infrastructure projects. 

 

I am pleased that the World Bank and TradeMark East Africa are co-investing in a $565 million project to improve infrastructure and operations at the Port of Dar es Salaam. 

 

Tanzania has abundant natural resources, including wildlife and natural gas, and a burgeoning consumer market, which make Tanzania one of the most exciting destinations for frontier investment.  Tanzania can use its position as a regional trade hub in East Africa’s economic integration to reap the benefits of belonging to a fast-growing and promising market.

 

I look forward to discussing with you the challenges and opportunities you see in Tanzania, and hearing from you how the United States can better support private sector economic growth across the region.

 

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