Joint Statement By Ethiopia and U.S. Announcing the 2013 AGOA Forum

Office of the Spokesperson
Departmentof State
Washington, DC

June 11, 2013

The Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, in association with the United States Government, will host the 2013 U.S.-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum also known as the AGOA Forum, on August 12-13, 2013 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The theme of this year’s AGOA Forum is *”“Sustainable Transformation through Trade and Technology.””* The Ministerial-level event will include a high level dialogue on the future of U.S.-Africa trade and economic cooperation.

The Forum will be preceded by private sector and civil society programs, as well as a program arranged by the Ethiopian African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP), on August 10-11. The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) in collaboration with the Ethiopian Chambers of Commerce and Sectoral Associations (ECCSA) will also organize a U.S. – sub-Saharan Africa Trade Exhibition to run concurrent with the Forum events.

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is the U.S. Government’s signature trade initiative with sub-Saharan Africa. The United States is strongly committed to expanding trade and investment, and to supporting broad-based economic opportunity and prosperity in Sub-Saharan Africa.