Speaking in Kigali, Rwanda, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker at the beginning of her visit to that country in late January, discussed the commitment of the United States toward strengthening economic trade with the East African Community. Secretary Pritzker said:
“Today I am joined in Kigali by the group of senior executives who comprise the President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa.
Their charge is to provide recommendations to President Obama and me on policy steps we can take to strengthen commercial engagement between the United States and countries across Africa, including how to build lasting partnerships between the U.S. and African private sectors.”
“Rwanda and the East African Community have a lot to offer U.S. investors,” said Secretary Pritzker. “East Africa is the most integrated and fastest-growing regional economic community in Africa. The PAC-DBIA members, as representatives of the American business community, have had the opportunity to share their perspective on policies that can foster deeper economic and trade ties between the East African Community and the United States. As part of this visit, our delegation ... met with President Kagame for a roundtable discussion on the opportunities presented by regional integration.”
“While we continue to deepen our commercial relationships, our delegation arrived at a challenging moment,” said Secretary Pritzker. “The United States has expressed its disappointment that President Kagame has chosen to run for a third term in 2017. We believe that respecting established term limits can strengthen democratic institutions and help build a vibrant and free society.”
“The relationship between the United States and Rwanda is deep and mature,” said Secretary Pritzker. “The depth of our relationship does not mean we never have disagreements,” the Secretary noted, “rather, the depth of our relationship means that we discuss disagreements openly and candidly and we work together to address them.”