NAIROBI - The United States Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, will preside over the forthcoming eighth African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, The New Times has learnt.

The trade forum will be held early next month under the theme: "Realizing the Full Potential of AGOA through Expansion of Trade and Investment.”

It’s expected that Clinton will lead a 250-man delegation of US government officials to the forum which will also be attended by over 3,000 delegates.

The Forum, which Rwanda is part of, will focus on a number of crucial trade and economic issues, including how countries can take full advantage of the range of export opportunities that AGOA offers.

"We expect to gain a lot through enhanced exports to the US since it is the largest consumer market,” Ephraim Murenzi, the First Counsellor at the Embassy of Rwanda said in an interview at his office.

The AGOA forum which will closely follow the 2nd East African Community (EAC) Investment Conference will serve an opportunity for the regional bloc to market itself as a single investment and business destination to the US market with over 300 million consumers.

The annual high-level event allows officials from AGOA eligible countries and officials from the US to review implementation of the act, as well as chart a way forward in building closer economic ties between the U.S and sub-Saharan Africa.

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