The Bright Continent

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in east Africa this week, visiting Zambia, Tanzania and Ethiopia. It’s a follow up to her gender-focused 2009 jaunt through seven African countries and focused specifically on economic development. She offered closing remarks at the Lusaka summit discussing renewal of America’s AGOA (African Growth and Opportunity Act) trade agreement. Here’s some of what she had to say:

Yes, there are still many challenges in many places, but the region is undeniably more stable, more democratic, and more prosperous than a decade ago. (Applause.) And thanks to the hard work of the African people, harnessed to the formal economy – because I hasten to add that African men and women have always worked hard, but not always connected to the formal economy in ways that could be measured – but now, thanks to that hard work, we see productivity rising. We see consumer spending in the region expected to grow by almost $600 million, and GDP by 1 trillion, in less than a decade. And some observers are now even referring to Africa as the home of “emerging emerging markets.”

Italics mine. Full text and video here.