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Stith to meet with African Presidents to assess strategic partnerships
Meetings to set framework for upcoming summit with nine former heads of state

On January 25, 2004, Ambassador Charles R. Stith, former U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania, and director of the African Presidential Archives and Research Center at Boston University (APARC), will embark on a seven-nation swing though Africa. Stith will meet with current and former African heads of state, prominent members of the public and private sector and major NGOs. The main items for discussion are advancing regional economic integration and intra-African trade, NEPAD, and maximizing U.S. Initiatives in Africa i.e. AGOA, the Millennium Challenge Account, and African Education Initiative. On Stith’s itinerary includes nations that are regional anchors with stable market-oriented economies. Among them are all of President Bush’s Regional Trade Hubs for Global Competitiveness: Ghana, Botswana, Kenya, Mauritius, Tanzania, and South Africa. These meetings will focus on expanding the framework for the upcoming African Presidential Roundtable 2004 to be convened in London and Boston in April.

Stith will also hold a Press Conference for the release of APARC’s 2003 African Leaders State of Africa Report at the University of Witswiterand’s South African Institute for International Affairs (SAIIA) on February 16, 2004 at 10:00 a.m. and in each of the nations he visits. The Report compiles the “vision” and strategies of contemporary African heads of state regarding their respective countries and regions.

The African Presidential Archives and Research Center, is based at Boston University, the fourth-largest university in the US and one of the first U.S. Universities to establish an African studies program.