12th edition of the event brought together private sector and government leaders to engage on key sectors including infrastructure
PARSIPPANY, N.J., June 24, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bill Killeen, CEO, and Paul Sullivan, Senior Vice President – International at Acrow Bridge, and Darren Keep, General Sales Manager for Acrow’s British unit Mabey Bridge, both leading international bridge engineering and supply companies, recently took part in Corporate Council on Africa’s 12th biennial U.S.-Africa Business Summit. The event took place from June 18-21, 2019 in Maputo, Mozambique and was attended by more than 1,000 U.S. and African private sector executives, international investors, multilateral stakeholders and senior government officials, including the heads of state of Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia, Uganda, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini and Lesotho. The theme of the Summit was “Advancing a Resilient and Sustainable U.S.-Africa Partnership.”
Killeen took part in a plenary session titled “Infrastructure Development: Backbone of Africa’s Trade and Industrial Revolution,” during which speakers discussed the impact of infrastructure development on the economy, projects with the greatest multiplier effects and best practices in public-private partnerships. Co-panelists included Dr. Martyn Davies, Managing Director, Emerging Markets and Africa, Deloitte; Sir James Dutton, Regional President - Africa, Bechtel Infrastructure Global Business; Farid Fezoua, CEO, General Electric Africa; Bongani Nqwababa, Executive Director and Joint President and CEO, Sasol; H. E. Dr. Sahar Nasr, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation of the Arab Republic of Egypt; the Hon. Ed Royce, Policy Director, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP; and Vasco Santos, Executive Head: Construction, Rental & Used at Barloworld Equipment.
In another presentation titled “Lessons Learned: U.S.-African Business Partnerships,” Sullivan and other speakers from U. S. Government and U.S. companies successfully doing business in Africa addressed the challenges and successes in developing business opportunities across the continent. Sullivan’s co-panelists included Stephen Cashin, CEO and Founder, Pan African Capital Group LLC; Seward “Skip” Jones, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Africa and Middle East, U.S. Department of Commerce; Sobhi Obeid, Country Manager, Angola & Mozambique, The Dow Chemical Company; Paul Hinks, CEO and Co-Founder, Symbion Power; and Aziz Rahman, Corporate Bank Head for Sub-Saharan Africa, Citi.
Recently reappointed to a second two year term as a member of the President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa, Killeen stated, “It was an honor to have been part of this major event, which convened African and American leaders in business, government and finance. Transportation infrastructure is critical to trade and commerce and a cornerstone of sustainable economic growth and social activity. Since 2000, Acrow has constructed more than 1,000 of its U.S.-made prefabricated modular bridges in rural and secondary sectors on the African continent which continue to support trade and enhance competitiveness locally as well as globally.”
Sullivan, a frequent speaker at international development conferences and recently elected Vice Chair of the Trade Advisory Committee on Africa (TACA), a committee of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) added, “It was a unique privilege to be part of a panel with participants so committed to Africa’s development. Strong collaboration between the public and private sectors in the U.S. and Africa is crucial in creating new market opportunities for U.S. companies, as are these events which focus on increasing U.S.-Africa trade, investment and commercial engagement.”
About Acrow Bridge
Acrow Bridge has been serving the transportation and construction industries for more than 60 years with a full line of modular steel bridging solutions for vehicle, rail, military and pedestrian use. Acrow’s extensive international presence includes its leadership in the development and implementation of bridge infrastructure projects in over 80 countries, covering Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, please visit www.acrow.com.
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