WASHINGTON, May 19, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Remarks

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

May 18, 2012

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I am delighted to send best wishes to the people of Cameroon as you celebrate your 40th anniversary of the Republic this May 20.

Our two countries are partnering together to address issues of democracy, good governance, and economic development. U.S. companies are investing and expanding their activities in Cameroon. I am pleased that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is assigning two Americans to work on a range of development projects, including a new million Food for Education program in Cameroon's Far North Region.

We hope to continue to work with Cameroon to consolidate democratic gains and economic growth; particularly as you embark upon municipal and legislative elections planned for 2013. We support your efforts to strengthen electoral institutions, enhance transparency and allow for contestation of results. As you celebrate your National Day, know that the United States stands with you as a partner and friend. We are committed to this relationship for a brighter future for all Cameroonians.

WASHINGTON, May 18, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- African Development Bank President Donald Kaberuka joined U.S. President Barack Obama, several African heads of state and leaders from the public and private sector in Washington on Friday for the launch of a new initiative that aims to reduce poverty and stimulate economic growth.

Photo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/photos/donald-kaberuka---afdb-president.jpg

The launch of The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition coincides with the Group of Eight (G8) Summit, which is being hosted at Camp David, the U.S. Presidential retreat near Washington. The G8 consists of the world's largest economies.

The new alliance aims to strengthen food security and nutrition by bolstering agricultural investment, spurring innovation and engaging more partners from the private sector. G8 member nations will support these efforts and ensure accountability.

At the launch event, AfDB President Donald Kaberuka spoke about the steps that must be taken to improve food security and stimulate economic growth.

During a panel discussion, President Kaberuka said that improving Africa's infrastructure, transportation, access to water and trade will drive economic growth in the same way that it has in countries like India.

He added that it would not only take money, but imagination as well.

The panel was immediately followed by a keynote speech from U.S. President Barack Obama, who stressed the importance of food and nutrition security not only for developing nations, but also for the good of the global economy.

He told the audience that improvements in this area are “Not only a moral imperative, but an economic imperative as well.”

President Obama and President Kaberuka will be together again on Saturday. They'll gather with G8 leaders, several African heads of state and a select group of executives from the private sector for an intimate session at Camp David. Again, the topic will be food and nutrition security and its influence on Africa's economic prospects.

Distributed by the African Press Organization on behalf of the African Development Bank.

For more on the African Development Bank, go to http://www.afdb.org

WASHINGTON, May 18, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- South Sudan received a US million World Bank grant today to help rehabilitate feeder roads and increase access to rural communities in high agricultural potential areas. The grant will also help improve food security and local service delivery efforts in the vast country. The South Sudan Rural Roads Project grant was signed today by the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Hon. Kosti Manibe Ngai, and Laura Kullenberg, Country Manager for the World Bank in South Sudan.

South Sudan only has a road network of about 17,000 km, of which only about 4,000 km are all weather roads. It thus faces a huge infrastructure deficit. Apart from helping to address this deficit, the grant aims to boost the local agriculture sector by upgrading and rehabilitating rural roads linking productive agricultural areas to market centers. This will help open up access to local markets, increase employment opportunities, and help improve the livelihoods of rural farmers. At present, South Sudan only has a classified road density of about 15 km to 1,000 Km2 of arable land area, whereas the rest of East Africa has 101 km to 1,000 Km2.

The project will thus help to support the country's attempts to develop its agricultural potential to improve the livelihood of the rural population. By improving access and connectivity to rural areas, the project will also help enhance basic services delivery efforts. Additionally, the project will help build the capacity of the Ministry of Roads and Bridges and State Directorates of Roads and Bridges in managing rural infrastructure.

Minister Ngai described the roads project as a means to boost the local agriculture sector and also improve food security within the country.

“This project will make it possible to transport farm inputs to productive areas and surplus produce to consumption areas where there are food deficits,” Hon. Ngai said. He noted that farmers were often discouraged from producing more because of the lack of access to markets. He also noted that the grant will help the government to realize their policy of taking services to rural communities.

According to Kullenberg, this grant will also help the government in its efforts to diversify the economy. “South Sudan is endowed with abundant material resources including a large amount of good quality rain fed agricultural land,” said Kullenberg. “By rehabilitating feeder roads, this project will help provide access to market and social services to many South Sudanese who currently live in hard to reach areas,” she said.

This grant is part of a larger trust fund totaling million, which the Bank is using to provide early assistance to South Sudan given the urgency of challenges faced by the new state, as it emerges from over two decades of conflict and embarks on the long journey towards nation building.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, May 18, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- INVITATION TO REPRESENTATIVES OF THE MEDIA

The Peace and Security Department of the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, invites journalists to the opening ceremony of the Tenth Regional Meeting of National Authorities of States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in Africa, on Tuesday, 22 May 2012, at 9:00 a.m. at the new African Union Conference Complex.

The Meeting, organized in partnership with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), will be attended by the African States Parties to the CWC, Ministers and dignitaries from the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, representatives of the United Kingdom, United States, the European Union and other invited guests.

The Meeting, which will be held under the theme “Full Implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in Africa: The Role of Regional and Sub-Regional Institutions”, will serve as a forum for States Parties in the region to present their needs for assistance in relation to their pending obligations and indicate what assistance they could offer to other States Parties in the region.

It will also serve to determine what role the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), can play for the full implementation of the CWC in Africa. The meeting is also expected to provide opportunities for participants to confer, network and share experiences on how national obligations may be fulfilled.

Journalists are invited to cover the opening and the closing ceremony on Tuesday, 22 and Thursday 24 May 2012 starting from 9:00am. The program is attached.

For Further Information consult the AU website: www.au.int

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, May 18, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- INVITATION TO REPRESENTATIVES OF THE MEDIA

WHEN: May 22nd -23rd 2012

WHERE: Conference Room 5, UN Conference Centre (UNCC), UNECA, Addis Ababa

TIME: 9:00 AM

WHO: Organized by the African Monitoring of Environment for Sustainable Development (AMESD) and the Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture, African Union Commission

WHY: The purpose of AMESD is to facilitate access to and exploitation of Africa-wide environmental information derived from earth observation technologies to support decision making. To that end, it is paramount that political and policy development frameworks are strengthened to foster better environmental policies, improve decision structures and enhance management interventions throughout the decision cycle. The conference also aims to sensitize policy makers on the potential utilization and integration of the AMESD regional products and services and in general environmental earth observation information into the development process of its 48 African member states.

PARTICIPANTS: Representatives from the African Regional Economic Communities (RECs): i.e. CEMAC, ECOWAS, IGAD, SADC, COMESA; AMESD Regional Implementation Centres (RICs), Environmental policy makers from each of the 49 African ,Caribbean and Pacific states (ACP ), Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), local and international organizations, universities and others.

BACKGROUND: AMESD has made significant progress since its inception in November 2007, in terms of improving data access with the deployment of 111 new satellite reception stations in 48 African countries, developing the first version of environmental products and services by the five Regional Implementing centres (RICs), reinforcing the technical level of African stakeholders and establishing regional networks with national focal points that begin to be operational.

Journalists are invited to cover the opening and closing ceremonies of the meeting, on May 22nd and 23rd in UN Conference Centre at UNECA.