World business pledge to back African development
Abuja, 21 November 2000 - The International Chamber of Commerce ended a two-day African regional conference here with an offer to make its expertise in trade and investment more widely available to the private sector in Nigeria and countries throughout Africa.
Reporting conclusions of the two-day conference, ICC President Adnan Kassar said: "Our meeting has achieved its success in bringing forward to the international business community the opportunities presented in the Nigerian economy as well as bringing the expertise of the world business organization to the Nigerian private sector.
ICC is the only business organization that represents all business and industrial sectors in every part of the world. Its membership of 7,000 companies and business assocations includes companies of every size, from small family businesses to leading multinationals.
President Kassar made this pledge: "ICC is always ready to offer its expertise and wealth of experience to assist individual countries in this region to realise their economic goals."
The ICC President told a press conference there was consensus among conference participants that, given the right conditions of a stable and environment conducive to investment, Nigeria in other African nations "will definitely play a very important role in the global economy." In this context, President Kassar said participants had been very impressed with President Obasanjo's plans for Nigerian economic growth and prosperity.
"The hope must be that globalization of markets, managed wisely, will be a path leading to world peace, the spread of wealth and greater prospects for all people to attain higher living standards," the ICC President said.
ICC is represented in a total of 27 African countries and expects to add more. The world business organization has national committees in Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo and Tunisia. Seventeen more countries have ICC direct members.
President Kassar is an eminent international banker, with broad experience in international investment. He is Chairman of Fransabank, a leading bank in Lebanon.
A key theme of the conference, hosted by ICC Nigeria, was finding the best investment opportunities in Africa and what types of investment have been the most successful from the viewpoint of multinational companies and local economies alike.
Top executives from leading multinationals, among them Nestle, Shell and Unilever, were among the speakers.
In a videotaped message to the Abuja conference from New York, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said that by focusing on Africa, ICC was giving a vote of confidence in the continent's prospects. Urging Africans to respond in kind, Kofi Annan said: "If Africa is to prosper and grow it needs a business-friendly climate at home, open markets abroad and assistance from more fortunate countries on other continents
."
Mr Anan said he was especially glad that ICC, which he described as "a highly valued partner of the UN", was focusing on Africa. "No other part of the world faces such daunting challenges, from deadly conflict to pandemic disease."
But in many more parts of Africa than many people realised, dramatic changes for the better were taking place - better government, better laws, and more chances for ordinary people to have a say in decisions that affect their lives. "This is a time, when, helped by the right partners, many Africans can make the leap towards a better life," Kofi Annan told his business audience in Abuja.
Full programme of ICC Africa regional meeting
ICC African national committees
Business in Africa