Statement by NSC Spokesman Tommy Vietor on Deputy National Security Advisor Michael Froman’s Trip to Sub-Saharan Africa

Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs Michael Froman led a high level delegation consisting of senior Administration officials from the Department of Commerce, the U.S. Agency for International Development, USTR, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the Department of State and the National Security Staff to sub-saharan Africa from July 11 – 20. The trip included stops in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Nairobi, Kenya; and Abuja, Nigeria. At each stop the delegation met with a cross section of government officials, private sector leaders and young entrepreneurs to push forward on a range of issues and initiatives including: the Partnership for Growth, the East African Community trade and investment partnership, the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition, the National Export Initiative, the Young African Leaders Initiative as well as energy generation, transmission and distribution and infrastructure development. This trip comes on the heels of the launch of the U.S. Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa, and was focused on steps to accelerate efforts to enhance U.S. Government collaboration with our African partners to promote increased investment, build the capacity of Africa's economic institutions, and drive sustained economic growth and poverty alleviation in the region.