BizClim, a new ACP-EU Facility - ACP Business Climate

❯ ❮In briefFirst requests have beenreceivedThanks to the information campaignlaunched in August, the first sevenrequests have already been introduced.They relate to, for example, regionalintegration, privatization of stateowned enterprises in infrastructure orto studies on investment prospects. nBusiness Forum in thecontext of the 5 th Summitof the ACP Heads of Statesin December 2006BizClim has been recently required bythe ACP Secretariat to collaborate in thepreparation of a business forum, whichwill take place on the 6 - 7 December2006 in Khartoum in the context of the5th Summit of the ACP Heads of Statesand Governments.The support of BizClim to the Forumincludes the preparation of documentson five important topics for thedevelopment of the ACP privatesector, preparation of the forumagenda, identification of speakers andproviding information to the Europeanand African businesses on issuesrelating to the business climate. nDiaForum 2006:Investment prospectsin the African ICT sector,in June 2006The 2006 African DiasporaInvestment Forum was organizedon 29 - 30 June 2006 in Brusselsby the association African Axis.The forum aimed at mobilizing theAfrican Diaspora for Africa’s privatesector development. BizClim wasinvited to participate and to makea presentation on the investmentprospects in Africa’s ICT (Information& Communication Technology) sectorparticularly in telecommunicationsand outsourcing. nAGENDAEU-Africa Business Forum:an initiative of the new UEstrategy for AfricaSince mid-August of this year, BizClim has been assuming the role of facilitatingthe preparation, by the European and African private sectors, of position papersin the context of the EU-Africa Business Forum that is scheduled to take place onNovember 16-17, 2006 in Brussels.The Forum will bring togetherabout 100 business leaders andrepresentatives of private sectororganisations from Africa and Europe, withthree main objectives. First, to help draw theattention of business representatives to thepotential of the African continent. Second,to facilitate the efforts of representatives ofthe business world to make contacts amongthemselves. And, third, to adopt an ActionPlan or a Declaration by the private sector.A Forum driven by the privatesectorSeveral representatives of European andAfrican private sector organizations andcompanies have volunteered to participate inon-line discussions and to contribute to thepreparation of three position papers.The papers evolve around three mainthemes: 1. interconnectivity (communicationsand infrastructure); 2. opportunities andchallenges of economic integration; and3. good governance.These documents represent a reflection bythe European and African private sector onproblems and opportunities for collaborationas well as on possible solutions intended forgovernments and private sector. In addition,these documents should form the basis forgroup discussions, which should lead to ajoint declaration by the European and Africanprivate sector.An essential part of a new strategyfor AfricaThe Forum planned for 16th and 17thNovember, represents the first of its kind andfits into the European Strategy for Africa.The European strategy for Africa wasadopted on December 12, 2005 by theEU General Affairs and External RelationsCouncil. Further than the Forum, thisstrategy proposes to launch a number ofnew initiatives, such as:n The “EU-African Partnership onInfrastructure”, promoting regionaland continental interconnection atcontinental level to support regionalintegration;n The “EU Governance Initiative”, providingassistance for the implementation ofthe governance reforms proposed bythe African Peer Review Mechanism(APRM). nPlace Title Organization DateBelgium- Namur EPA Negotiations Gresea 08 November 2006Mali- Bamako Novatech PRO€INVEST 07 - 09 November 2006Belgium- Brussels Workshop ACP Secretariat 13 November 2006Belgium- BrusselsBelgium- BrusselsSudan- KhartoumEU-AfricaBusiness ForumTraining on “Europe-Southern Africa ”Business Forum- 5 thSummit on the ACPHead of StatesEuropean16 - 17 November 2006CommissionGresea 23 November 2006ACP Secretariat 06 - 07 December 20064 BizNEWS n°1 n October-December 2006