Conference: African Growth and Opportunity Act in Action

List of Key Chapter Titles

1. Opening and Introduction to the AGORA Meeting
2. Challenges and Opportunities of the African Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA)
3. Re-examining the U.S. African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the Future of U.S.-Africa Trade Relations
4. The Dilemma, Reshaping, and Significance of Multilateralism for Africa
5. Italy's "Mattei Plan": Analysis of a New Cooperation Model
6. Africa's Science, Technology, and Innovation Gap and Pathways for Local Capacity Building
7. Agriculture, the "Sleeping Giant": Productivity Challenges and Strategies for Awakening
8. The Value of the AGORA Platform: Knowledge Cooperation and Building North-South Partnerships
9. The Multidimensional Role of the Diaspora in Africa's Development
10. Key Risk Categories Facing Africa's Development
11. Audience Q&A: Mitigating Catastrophic Risks and the Role of the Diaspora

Document Introduction

This report is based on the complete transcript of a core discussion held at the ABCDE Conference in Washington, D.C., on July 23, 2025. The session was chaired by Jero Kareto, former Director of the Development Economics Research Department at the World Bank, and brought together several leading experts including Andrew Dabalen, Chief Economist for Africa at the World Bank; former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria and other countries, Robin Sanders; John Swinnen, Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute; Leonard Wantchekon, Professor at Princeton University and founder of the African School of Economics; and Matteo Bugamelli, Executive Director for Italy. The meeting aimed to reflect on the specific implications for Africa of the discussions on multilateralism and global development within the ABCDE Forum, and to prospectively introduce the themes of the flagship "African Growth and Opportunity Research in Action" (AGORA) conference scheduled for November of the same year in Palermo, Italy.

The discussion closely focused on Africa's strategic choices in the current global transformation. Experts first analyzed the progress and bottlenecks of the African Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) since its signing in 2018, pointing out that infrastructure connectivity (such as the Lobito Corridor, Lagos-Abidjan Corridor), regional power pooling, and most critically, policy coordination and the removal of non-tariff barriers are central to its success. Subsequently, the dialogue turned to U.S.-Africa economic and trade relations, particularly the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) facing reauthorization. Ambassador Sanders clarified the nature of AGOA as a trade preference framework rather than a development tool, emphasizing that regardless of its specific form, the United States must establish and maintain a strong trade partnership with the African continent, avoid a "neo-colonialist" mindset, and noted that China has already taken similar actions in this field.

Multilateralism was another key focus. Executive Director Bugamelli acknowledged the current difficulties facing multilateralism but argued that for the highly interconnected global value chain system, multilateralism remains the only viable response. He highlighted the value of multilateral cooperation demonstrated by institutions like the World Bank through increased resource commitments (e.g., IDA) and improved operational efficiency, and pointed out that regionalism (such as intra-African integration and Europe-Africa cooperation) could serve as a foundation for building a new multilateralism. In this context, the Italian government's "Mattei Plan" was introduced as a new cooperation model. Its three pillars—equal partnership (shared responsibility and benefits), co-designing solutions (demand-driven), and a focus on concrete projects (e.g., energy access, green infrastructure)—aim to break through traditional cooperation paradigms and need to be advanced in coordination with the EU and multilateral development banks.

The report delves into the endogenous drivers of Africa's development. Using data and his own experience in establishing educational institutions, Professor Wantchekon sharply pointed out Africa's severe lag in its share of global researchers (1.1%) and knowledge output (1.1%), emphasizing that building independent innovation capacity is crucial for enhancing productivity and state capability. He called for a significant increase in R&D investment and the establishment of regional R&D centers. Director General Swinnen defined agriculture as the "sleeping giant," analyzing its critical role in food security, employment, and addressing fragility. He highlighted the stark reality that productivity gains contribute only about 10% to Africa's agricultural growth, and argued that investing in innovation and improving domestic and regional value chains (not just international trade) is key to breaking the deadlock. Ambassador Sanders added that insufficient policy continuity in African agriculture ministries, administrative barriers, and financing challenges are practical obstacles hindering agricultural development.

As the core promotional segment of the meeting, AGORA was positioned as a partnership platform connecting the North and South, promoting knowledge sharing and capacity building. Executive Director Bugamelli emphasized its ability to combine cutting-edge research with project operations like those of the World Bank, empowering local institutions and the private sector. Professor Wantchekon called for AGORA to become a summit for Africa and Italy in the field of science and technology, promoting collaboration among scientists around concrete projects and cultivating "educated entrepreneurs."

Finally, the audience Q&A session touched on the possibility of using insurance mechanisms to mitigate catastrophic risks to address market failures, and the crucial role of the African diaspora in channeling human capital, financial resources, and networks back to the continent. Experts noted that political, production, and trade risks are the main "catastrophic" risk categories hindering investment, while the dynamism and connections of the diaspora (particularly in the U.S.) are injecting indispensable momentum into Africa's development across trade, technology, agriculture, and other fields.

This transcript provides policymakers, development experts, and geopolitical observers with a firsthand, high-density record of cutting-edge debates on African development. It clearly presents the positions, diagnoses, and policy initiatives of key actors, offering significant reference and analytical value.