core sector communique

President Kikwete to Open the 20th World Economic Forum on Africa

• President Kikwete will welcome over 700 leaders to World Economic Forum on Africa meeting
• Media accreditation – please register online at www.weforummedia.org
• World Economic Forum on Africa convenes in East Africa for the first time
  

Geneva, Switzerland, 24 March 2010 – President Kikwete of Tanzania will welcome over 700 leaders from around the world to the 20th World Economic Forum on Africa. Heads of state include President Zuma of South Africa and President Pohamba of Namibia with several more expected to participate. Early confirmations include international figures Pascal Lamy, World Trade Organization; Robert D. Hormats, US Undersecretary of State for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs; Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for External Affairs of India; Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Managing Director of the World Bank; Linah Mohohlo, Governor of the Bank of Botswana; Babatunde Raji Fashola, Governor of Lagos State, Nigeria; Dan Plato, Mayor of the City of Cape Town, South Africa; and more as the meeting draws closer.

The meeting is the most exclusive multistakeholder gathering of leaders with a stake in the future of the continent. African and global leaders will convene under the theme “Rethinking Africa’s Growth Strategy” at the World Economic Forum’s first meeting in East Africa in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on 5-7 May 2010. Media accreditation for the 2010 World Economic Forum on Africa is open. 

The Co-Chairs of the meeting are Ajai Chowdhry, Founder, HCL; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, HCL Infosystems, India; Kuseni Douglas Dlamini, Chief Executive Officer, Old Mutual, South Africa; Pat Davies, Chief Executive, Sasol, South Africa; and Joergen Ole Haslestad, President and Chief Executive Officer, Yara International, Norway.

The World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders (YGLs) convene this year at their Annual Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from 2 to 7 May 2010 – the first time in Africa and the largest-ever gathering of Young Global Leaders. This event will enable YGLs to build a strong and diverse community, to engender a better understanding of the global and regional agendas, and to engage in initiatives to address specific challenges of public interest.