Obama upbeat on Africa on eve of Kenya, Ethiopia trip

AFP, WASHINGTON: On the eve of his trip to Africa, US President Barack Obama said he was excited about the impending visit to his ancestral continent, which he said had great resilience and enormous potential for growth.
Obama is due to leave on Thursday for Kenya, marking his first presidential visit to the homeland of his father.
From there, Obama will trace the Great Rift Valley northward to Addis Ababa, becoming the first US president to visit Ethiopia. “Despite its many challenges—and we have to be clear-eyed about all the challenges that the continent still faces—Africa is a place of incredible dynamism, some of the fastest-growing markets in the world, extraordinary people, extraordinary resilience,” Obama said at a reception late Wednesday.
The continent “has the potential to be the next center of global economic growth,” he said at the event, which celebrated the African Growth Opportunity Act, US trade legislation which aims to help bolster Africa’s prosperity.

Obama upbeat on Africa on eve of Kenya, Ethiopia trip

AFP, WASHINGTON: On the eve of his trip to Africa, US President Barack Obama said he was excited about the impending visit to his ancestral continent, which he said had great resilience and enormous potential for growth. Obama is due to leave on Thursday for Kenya, marking his first presidential visit to the homeland of his father. From there, Obama will trace the Great Rift Valley northward to Addis Ababa, becoming the first US president to visit Ethiopia. Despite its many challengesand we have to be clear-eyed about all the challenges that the continent still facesAfrica is a place of incredible dynamism, some of the fastest-growing markets in the world, extraordinary people, extraordinary resilience, Obama said at a reception late Wednesday. The continent has the potential to be the next center of global economic growth, he said at the event, which celebrated the African Growth Opportunity Act, US trade legislation which aims to help bolster Africas prosperity.