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recently held interviews with with presidents of universities in the big ten conference. the issues are the high cost of education, student debt, admission policies and campus security. >> this week we have kicked off a month-long series looking at the big ten universities and interviewing their presidents, giving you a chance to talk with some of these university presidents. this is a cspan bus tour and this month, this morning, the cspan bus is in iowa city, iowa, at the university of iowa and joining us from the bus is the president of the university of iowa, sallie mae son. she has been president of that university since 2007. president mason, begin by telling us, what's the budget for the university of iowa, your an yul budget, where do those revenues derive from?

>> the budget for the university of iowa, the total budget for the university of iowa is about $2.4 billion. largely because we have a very large academic medical center, that's part of our operation, including a very big hospital. it's a big budget, it is absolutely one that has continued to grow despite some of the challenges that we have had, including a very large natural disaster in 2008, a major flood, that impacted us rather significantly and that we're still recovering from, but we are recovering in very fine fashion with nearly a billion dollars worth of construction going on in iowa city right now, the education kbugt which is probably the thing that people are most interested in. is about $680 million and about $220 million of that comes from the state of iowa and the rest comes from tuition. >> an iowa resident is going to pay about $8,000 a year to

attend the university of iowa, an out of state resident is going to pay about $27,000. why that discrepancy between in state and out of state? >> obviously the in state students are subsidized by appropriations from the state of iowa. iowans have always valued education and we are very proud of that. a lot of out of state students need to pay the full cost of their tuition, hence the difference between the in state and out of state rates. >> you have proposed a 3-year -- >> one of the things we have been focused on for the last

seven years i have been here, is student -- i was the first generation college student, first student in my family everybody to pay for college. it was a stretch for us to pay for college. so i have a great deal of sympathy for students who are struggling and looking for ways to attend colleges that don't cost them everything they have. in terms of trying to make college affordable, we know there is a number of ways we can do things, a three-year degree, it's not going to be for every student, but it will be for highhigh highly motivated students. because ill will include summer school. and we'll have a summer tuition grant program that will essentially allow students in this three-year program to attend summer school for free. this will hasten their progress towards a-degree. obviously complete in three

years and be able to join the workforce. we have a lot of great graduate and professional programs here that we encourage students to consider. >> so what's been the response so far from students, parents, faculty. >> well, we have just announced it this week, and we're getting a lot of positive response, we're still in the process of developing the degree programs that this will likely lly apply we want to make certain that it applies to degree programs that are sought after by our students. so some of our degree programs will be likely offered as this opportunity to students in the future. >> if you would like to talk to sallie m sallie sally mason, there's the university of iowa on your screen. 202-585-3380 for students,

educators, 585-3882. and we have set aside our fourth line this morning for iowa residents, especially if you graduated from the university of iowa, we would like to get your perspective as well. 202-585- 202-585-3883. sally mason, we know that you've put a tuition freeze on for a few years. how much influence does the state of iowa and that government have on how you budget, how you function? >> well the state board of rejnts is our governing authority and in fact they have a great deal of authority when it comes to setting tuition and policy and so forth. they're an important governing

board in this state, obviously, they're appointed by the governor and they're individual citizens of the state of iowa that have a great deal of interest in higher education and a passion for helping us maintain a very strong education system here in the state. it's always something -- there's always something going on, i have to say they've been very, very supportive of our -- of the moves towards three-year degrees, of our continued efforts to make colleges as affordable as we can, especially for iowa residents. >> is it worth a college education to come out of four years of college and have $50,000 in student debt? >> well, you know, that's a lot of student debt. i have to say that our students, let me begin with 40% of our students graduate with zero debt. which is something that i'm very pleased and proud about. and then of the remaining students who do graduate with

debt, on average their student set might be in the $26,000 $27,000 a year in debt. we try to determine how much is true need debt and how much might be due to life sil. and about half of that is need-based debt. that's what the students need to borrow to be able to attain that college education, that college degree. is it worth it? at that price, it's absolutely worth it. i can remember graduating from college in 1972 with about $3,000 in student debt, which at this time was about the price of a car. an average car. and again, our students are graduating with a debt level for the most part that is very manageable. i worry a great deal about the cases that we hear about in the

news a lot, of students who are graduating with significantly more debt than that, we have great financial counselors here, we encourage every student and every family, even before they even roll to sit down with our financial advisors and our financial aid officers and work out a plan that will allow them to go to college, not incur debt that honestly will be impossible for them to deal with once they graduate. that's just not the way we should be doing higher education today. >> sally mason, what's the career track for a college president. you majored in zoology at the university of kentucky, got a masters at perdue, and got a phd in cellular research. >> i certainly came up through

the ranks as a professor, once i got to college, the joke in my family, of course no one had been to college before, once she got there, she never left. as far as my family's concerninged, i'm still there. it's a joke that i'm still in college, although it doesn't cost anybody any money anymore. and that's a good thing. but my college track is what would be considered typical for a college president. i moved through the ranks from professor, to administrator, including serving as a department head, eventually dean of a very large college. and dean of provost university and now having served for the last seven years as president of the university of iowa. my big ten roots are strong, perhaps that comes from my mother's roots, from going back to indiana. >> sally mason, your job, how

much time is spent fundraising, how much time is spent being the administrator, et cetera, et cetera? >> yeah. well the job of a college president today is very, very different from what it was probably 50 years ago and we do a lot of fundraising, we're in the midst of a very large capital campaign, the large elson in tlarge -- largest in the history of the university of iowa. we're in the process of raising $7 billion. we're about $1.3 buiillion on t way to that goal of $7 billion. a lot of that money is providing tuition for opportunities that will provide the excellence of the university of iowa continue well on into the future. it's a joy for me to connect with so many alumni, thousands of alumni all across the country

and around the world who have a passion for the university of iowa and who have been so generous in giving back us to. i spend half of my time fundraising and the other half of my time in administrative activities, in national activities, i try to remain active in a number of national organizations, that are important to higher education, and certainly important to the university of iowa, it's important for us to be connected to the rest of our country and to the rest of the world. >> 57% of college students today are women, 26% of college presidents are women. any response to that? >> we have room for improvement there. yeah, i think that -- you know, i often tell the story to young women that i have the opportunity to interact with today that when i was coming up through college and i was a sophomore in college, taking organic chemistry, i was one of

three women in a very large organic chemistry class, and there were 200 students in the class, we were very obvious. we had to sit in the front row because the instructor would know if we were there or not there. today you wouldn't see that, today the organic chemistry class would be more broad in terms of diversity. diversity is something that a lot of us focus a lot of our attention on. the number of women as college presidents today there,'s room for growth there, there's still lots of students i think that we miss sometimes with women and the talent that they can bring to the workforce in virtually every profession. and higher education is no different. it's great to see the number of young women purr u suing higher education today, that excites me

a great deal. we actually have some wonderful engineering programs here at the university of iowa. i'm very proud of those engineering programs. having spent a number of years as provost of iowa university. a lot of our students are actually women. if i look at the activities of these young women, our retention rates and our completion rates as well as our placement rates for those young women who are attaining those engineering degrees are very, very high, p upwards of 92% to 98%. i think that's tremendous, i think that bodes well for the future and i think our country will be well served, once we continue to grow these numbers, whether it be minorities or whether it be women in these underserved areas. >> this is your chance to talk with a major university president, we have divided our lines a little bit differently, we're going to put them up on

the scream, students, parents and educators, 202-585-3880. f and the first call for sally mason, president of the university of iowa, comes from an iowan and the parents all in west liberty, iowa. hi, paul. >> caller: hi, good speaking with you this morning. i have a question regarding, my son is going to be enrolling at iowa next year in engineering, so fall of 2015. i was wondering if engineering is going to be included in that three-year program. and i'll take my call off the air. thank you. >> great, great, good question. we're going to work on that because i firmly believe that there are some portions of our

engineering degrees that we can do in three years. he's highly motivated and i bet he is because he's already thinking about this and he already knows what he wants to do. he's going to be a hawkeye, he's probably on a good track to complete in that three-year period, we'll do everything we can to help him, including allowing him opportunities to attend summer school for free. >> dede tweets into to you, president mason, does iowa project out a decade or more what jobs will be in demand in the future and adjust programs accordingly? >> if i'm hearing your question correctly, you're asking about jobs in the future. and one of the things that we think about a lot here is how do we best prepare students to what we best think the nefuture migh be. but as we look forward, one of

the things we know from our students is having that opportunity to earn that degree in a chosen major is great. but let's go a little bit further. let's offer, and one of the things that's very, very popular with our students is entrepreneurship, let's offer ever student an opportunity to couple an entrepreneur ship degree with whatever degree they might be attending. we see students with that entrepreneurial spirit as well as the training we can help provide them with, often decide they can make their own careers, we know the health care industry is going to continue to boom and we have great strengths in health care here at the university of iowa, training a lot of students for the health care of the future. but the students who have that little extra creative edge and want to go on to do something perhaps a little different,

perhaps a driver for future technologies and kinds of job opportunities that might be out there. we think that experiential learning and entrepreneur ship, one of the top 25 entrepreneur ship programs exist here at the university of iowa and we have grown that program so that each and every student here if they want that opportunity can have it. watching students start their own careers is exciting for us as administrators too. >> out of that grew, the iowa flood center, which is what? >> yes, thank you for mentioning the flood center. we're an educational institution, i have to say in 2008, i had only been president for nine months when the flood hit. and it was certainly one of the worst natural disasters in u.s. history, to watch what happened to eastern iowa during that time. our campus sustained nearly a billion dollars worth of damage,

including 2 million square feet of feet impacted by that, three major buildings destroyed, but during that particular event, i have to say that our world famous hydrology group, was the best opportunity they could think of to begin to study natural disasters like floods, and create flood centers, the iowa flood center is not only known across iowa and even around the world, for its research on floods and flooding. they're doing ground breaking things on technology, to help us better understand how and when and why floods occur, and obviously helping us understand how we can try to mitigate and keep these things from being the kinds of natural disasters that do to us what happened in 2008. if you come to iowa city right now, we look like a city of tower cranes because we're in active and full flood recovery. one of my highest priorities is

to make absolutely certain that we fully recover from that flood so that we can begin to grow. >> sally mason is president of the united states of iowa. and allen is an educator in tack home ca tacoma, washington. >> caller: i'm actually an advocate for student loan.org. so my question is regarding student loan debt. now the purpose of the call, have been very unwilling to discuss this issue at any length. so i'm glad to maybe put you on the spot a little bit so i apologize in advance. but i'm not sure if you're aware, almost half of the people out of college are unable to pay their loans, and by my estimates, the lifetime default rate across all students, all colleges for federal student loans is well in excess of 30%.

and you know the other big numbers, the againg a numbers, the againg greging a gat debt. systemically, this really comes down to the fact that student loans are the only type of loan in this country to be specifically exempted of standard bankruptcy protections, statutes of limitations and other critical protections that we just assume are there. and candidly, i have to say that the schools almost never provide adequate warning to the students, in other words the students never know these things before they sign for the debt. >> all right, allen, we got a lot there, let's get a response from dr. mason. >> thank you for the question, because i do think it's an important issue. we're fortunate at iowa that our student loan default rate is about 2%, it's quite low, but there's certainly great examples

out there of abuses of student loans, and by abuses, i mean really people not knowing exactly what the student loan business is all about. there are also predatory lenders out there. we try very hard here on the front end, when students are enrolling here for the very first time to sit down with them and their families to make absolutely certain that they know what they're getting into if they decide to go the route of a student loan. and in fact we try to steer folks in some cases away from certain types of loans that we don't think are really good for them in the short or the long-term, to make certain that they're not getting into situations that would ultimately lead to a default and ulgt matly affect their lives negatively for a good long time. so it's -- it's absolutely an issue that we should be paying attention to, we should be looking very hard at the default rates at schools out there and

making certain that the institutions are doing everything they can to help the consumers, in this case our students and their families making certain that they know exactly what they're getting into, when they do the student loan that they need for college. >> jenny in rainbow city, alabama, parents line, go ahead, jenny. >> caller: this is for dr. mason, i wanted to comment, i have a son who graduated from the university of iowa, he got a degree in international relations, he was one of their best model students, got an outstanding award from harvard and he went to china for three years because the economy was bad enough that there were no jobs for people his age in this country and that was fine, i didn't want him to go to communist china, we told him

that china was not what he thought. all people are the handiwork of god and all people are great, but not all governments are equal. and the government in china is very, very a lot like hitler, stalin and -- >> jenny what would you like sally mason to respond to? >> caller: what i would like him to respond so to is that the college taught him that all governments were created equal. he was taking pictures of a tourist area, there was a battleship in the background and a citizen turned him in for taking pictures even though it was a tourist area and nobody said no pictures. he spent seven hours with three intelligence people interrogating him. >> jenny, is in a specific question or do you just want her to respond to your story? >> the education there was not

accurate as to reality. >> all right, we got it, thank you. sally mason. >> i'm sorry, i'm trying to understand her story. it sounds to me like her son had an experience perhaps overseas that might not have been the best. one of the things that we try to do at the university is to help our students have that first international experience with some supervision, with some folks who are very, very skilled at helping them understand the different cultures, the different parts of the world that they might be going to and i think the study abroad experiences that students can get today, especially at the -- at most of our universities in the country today are just amazing. they're wonderful. i did not have that experience as a student myself, but i would

encourage every student who can to try and take advantage of a study abroad, to immerse themselves in another culture, to learn what it's like to be in a very, very different situation, with a different government, with different people around them and perhaps a very different language being spoken. and maybe not one that they fully understand. that first experience is one that allows our students to grow up in very, very interesting wayless and quickly, that the experience is always life changing and it's one that i think with a little help, i think on the front side, with the first experience that they are, will allow them then to navigate the world better once they graduate and in many cases go on to jobs that will take them around the world and into different cultures. >> is tenure a good system and should it be kept as is? >> you know, tenure is an

opportunity for faculty to really show what they can do as well as an opportunity to make certain that they have the ability to do the kinds of things that really are necessary for all of us, freedom of speech, the freedom of ideas, freedom to do work that perhaps isn't necessarily going to be appreciated by everyone. and in the particular case of, you know, i earned tenure a long time ago in biology and i worked very hard to do so, i worked very hard to prove that i could do everything that was expected of a faculty member and then some. and it was, to me it was a real honor and a privilege to be able to say that i had accomplished that goal at a point in my career when i was still quite young. and it is really all about hard work as much as anything. and the reward for hard work is to know that you have a sense of job security, that you have a

sense that if you were to do some research that turned out to be controversial, that in fact that research would still be disseminated out into the public and valued obviously by groups that wanted to look at this research and not have to worry so much about that. >> i can appreciate that and i can see the pluses and sometimes the minuses as well. >> myelo is calling from jefferson, iowa. >> caller: thank you for having me on and i would like to say there's been some serious questions and really good ones, but i have been an iowa fan my entire life as long as i can remember. and i'm 63 years old, and iowa city is awesome, all of the facilities are just a great place. but i have a very serious

question, and i would like to know if you have any inside information on how many, not if, but how many points will beat the iowa state cyclones tomorrow. and if you could ask kurt france the coach to pleaselet mark wiseman run the ball a little bit more. thank you very much, and ma'am, we want to say that we're proud of you very much in iowa here, and it's just been a pleasure, thank you. >> sally mason. >> you just experienced -- >> go ahead. >> well, you've just experienced something that i love about my job and that's hawkeye fans, they're great people here in iowa and all around the country and we have a rivally game, i was with the football coach earlier this morning in fact at an i club breakfast, and we didn't try to predict the score, but i did ask him, and my fans

will appreciate this, and i did ask him to not make this quite so dramatic. and a little less drama for our football games could be a lot better. and i certainly will pass that on to mark wiseman to run the ball a little bit. >> i'm surprised mylo didn't ask a question. but how important are sports to fund raising, for revenues for the university. if you were at the breakfast, my guess is maybe you were looking for potential donors? >> well, at the university of iowa, we're one of the fortunate schools where athletics pays for itself. and again, a testament meant to the fan base that we have, the loyal fan base that we have, the support that they give to our athletics department. our athletic students were on scholarship here, and there's 500 or more of these.

they pay the full tuition back to us for every one of those student athlete scholars that we have and that contributes obviously to the bottom line of the university when it comes to our academic mission. we don't pay any ftaxpayer dollars, no taxpayer dollars go to athleticses at the university of iowa. we're fortunate to be part of the big ten conference and the revenues that we're able to get from ticket sales, from tv contracts, all of that, we're able to pay for everything that we do in athletics. on the fundraising side, obviously, it's a big plus, on the fundraising side, many of our hawkeye fans are not only loyal to our athletic teams, but they're loyal to our academic teams as well. we're lucky to have some amazing, amazing donors that have stepped up in a big way. i want to mention two that are quite unusual for us that

support our medical operations, we have a great diabetes center here that is -- we were able to name this center after them and hire a world class director for this center with the ultimate goal of curing diabetes. and similarly, in our vision inch group, the winn institute for vision research led by dr. ed stone was funded again by the general generosity of steve winn, he's committed to helping our researchers cure blindness. we have great support that spills over to the academic side and it makes my job a lot of fun. >> you're also chair of the big ten counselors and chancellors

there's been some movement that one of your fellow universities, northwestern, about unionizing student athletes, what's your take on that? >> you know, i would hate to see that. i really view our student athletes as students first. our student athletes here perform well above, not only the sto school average when it comes to school and the national average. they take their studies and their academics here very, very seriously. we need to be able to provide a great environment for our student athletes and make sure they have all the support they need, whether it's support for academics, whether it's support to keep them healthy. i'm all for making certain that we continue to add to benefits for them, that we provide the highest quality opportunities for them, but i really would hate to see them think of themselves as employees rather than as student athletes.

i think that really is not what i look to college sports for. >> robert is calling in from tampa, robert, you're on the air. >> caller: good morning dr. mason, thank you for the opportunity. my question to you is could you speak as to why universities are intentionally gouging nonresident students? it encourages larger student loan debt as one of the reasons for higher student debt. >> sally mason. >> i'm sorry to hear that you think that we're gouging out of state students, what we're doing is charging the full cost of education because the taxpayers of the state of iowa who have made huge investments in the infrastructure here, they are done so because they want iowa students to have opportunities in iowa, we're able to provide them with lesser -- obviously

lesser tuition needs than we are for the out of state students. we have to really in good conscience provide -- our out of state tuition although it may seem high, it actually seems quite reasonable. we provide a half a million dollars worth of financial aid a year. if you're an iowa student and you meet the minimum requirements, the basic requirements that the board of regents has set for admission to the iowa public universities. you're automatically admitted. we take every student who apply who is meets those requirements. then we can select from out of state students, and we try to help them as well with with financial aid. we have scholarships for all kinds of students, our donors

have been willing to provide scholarship dollars for iowa residents and noniowa residents. we have put together a package to make this doable for our instate students, but also for our nonresident students as well. i hope people understand that. >> i want to ask you something that our viewers across the nation have heard of which is the iowa writers workshop. what is that and how do you get it started? >> yeah, thank you for asking. the iowa writer's workshop is world famous, as it should be. we have had the best creative writing programs here for a long, long time. we have the only unesco city of literature in 2008, we're proud of that designation, we are embedded in what is known as the

creative corridor here in eastern iowa and we're proud of that as well. again, the writers drive a lot of that, we have had tennessee williams, we have had writers who everybody has heard of come to our workshop, and we have writers on staff that people would know the names. we're also very well known for an international writing program, which was an offshoot of the writers workshop, when paul engel, one of the original directors of the iowa writers workshop, retired from his job of directing that workshop, he and his wife decided to start the international writing program, which every year brings international writers to iowa city, we have had several writers -- several of the writers from around the world who have part mated in that program, have gone on to win nobel prizes in literature. we're very proud of the roots and the traditions of the arts, the humanities, literature, here in iowa, in fact, we're so proud

of that because we were the first institution to ever grant an mfa degree. in essence, it was invented here, and it was in part in response not only to our creative writers, but also to our artists, that painting painted by gant wood, grant wood was on our faculty many, many years ago and he was the source of giving academic credit for artistic work. >> and sally mason is the president of the united states of iowa. we appreciate you joining us on our big ten tour, ma'am. >> on the next washington journal, mike duncan of the

american -- coal and action plan have become high profile issues in campaign 2014. after that karen white of the national education association, she wloox at why the nea plans to spend about $40 million on the midterm elections. washington journal, live every morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern on cspan. cspan's campaign 2014 coverage continues with a new jersey senate debate between incumbent democrat cory booker and republican jeff bell. it's the first and possibly only debate between the candidates as a poll has listed the race as solid democrat. and on wednesday more campaign coverage between incumbent mary landrieu and republican congressman bill cassidy and gop challenger retired colonel rob mancas.

the majority winning the election. if a candidate fails to get 50% of a vote, a runoff will take place. you can watch wednesday's debate live at 8:00 p.m. eastern on cspan. you can also post your kmerpts on facebook and twitter. and right after that,-- also on cspan. be part of cspan's 2014 campaign coverage. to get debate schedules, video clips of key moments, debate previews from our politics team, cspan is bringing you over 100 senate house and governor debates and you can instantly share your reactions to what the candidates are saying, the battle for control of congress, stay in touch and engage by following us on twitter at cspan and liking us on facebook, at

facebook.com/cspan. >> next remarks by former new york mayor michael bloomberg and commerce secretary penny britsker. this is about 20 minutes. >> good morning, oveveryone. i wanted to thank president obama and penny pristger to host this ground breaking event. with over 200 corporations and 50 african countries represented here, this gathering really does represent a new approach to economic development in africa and a new moment in u.s.-african relations. since the dawn of africa's independence movement, america's relationship with the continent has depended ongd world aid,

that part of our relationship still is vitally important. but africa has now developed into a global economic force, and so our relationship must evofl and mature. and that is the purpose of this forum, to recast our relationship as a full, equal and advanced economic partnership, a partnership that holds as much promise for african countries as it does for america. we have the people in this room to make that partnership a success. so to start off the morning, i would like to invite all of you to take a few seconds to introduce yourself to the person next to you, or someone you have not met yet.

>> we can go on with this, this is doing exactly what we want to do. as we all know, as we all know, whether it's in our families, or our businesses or our countries, relationships are what matters and that's the whole idea here today is to get to know each other, to develop contacts and to show our mutual respect of one for another. and thank you, thank you clearly there's a lot to talk about. and there will be more opportunities to continuing our conversations, there is so much to discuss, because africa is today's biggest market opportunity in the global economy. and if you think i'm kidding,

just look at the numbers, africa is expected to reach an overall 5% growth rate by 2018, it registered more than 400 new companies in the last year alone. and it's middle class or consumer class is the fastest agreeing in the world. the fact is, africa is no longer emerging, it is here now. as africa begins a new stage in its journey, we in america want to walk by its side. we also realize that we have some catching up to do. foreign investment in africa has reached record highs, but that the united states is being led more by its domestic policies and we are letting europe and chesapeake gr china grow at a faster rate. only 2% of our total exports go

to africa. and that means we're missing out on a major opportunity to create jobs here at home. in america there's a disconnect between the reality of the african market and the perception of the african market. and this conference is aimed at fixing that. countries and companies that ignore the african market do so at their own peril. and that will become increasingly true with each passing year. the business that i own, bloomberg lp has offices in six countries in africa, eight cities, employing more than 160 people, including more than 120 full-time and freelance journalists and we are growing there. in fact the first business trip that i took after leaving office in january was to south africa to help expand our offices both in cape town and joeberg. while i was there, we also launched a $10 million training program, to increase financial reporting on the continue

innocent, we worked closely with financial institutions, private companies and central bankers to help them maximize efficiency, mitigate risk and increase capital flows, and that not only helps the local financial markets, it also helps attract more foreign investment. my foundation has also been investing in africa for years. we didn't just start helping africa, we have been doing it for a long time, because the research is clear, that perhaps the% single investment you can make to spur economic development is to improve public health. in zambia, for instance, we're work to stop the spread of mall larria, in tanzania, senegal, uganda, we're helping to prevent maternal deaths, in 34 countries, we're fighting to reduce the deadly scourge of tobacco use, all of those efforts are saving lives and also supporting economic

development because the more productive it is and the greatest potential for growth. we're also working to create jobs through training programs in rwanda and the democratic republic of congo. both presidents have been leaders in sustainable farms and we provide the resources and training to help women create independent coffee farming businesses. more than 108,000 women have benefitted from this program so far and if you had a cup of coffee this morning you are benefitting from it too. now if you didn't get much sleep last night, have a second cup. in the decades ahead, i don't think there's any limit to the progress that africa can make. imagine for a moment, an african labor force that will surpass india's and triple the size of

europe's. imagine an africa where extreme poverty as we know it is virtually eliminated where a consumer class with greater incomes has greater purchasing power, where broad band access stretches from cairo to cape town and all points in between. where climate change policies that protect africa's coastal cities and farm lands go hand in hand with economic growth, and when people from around the world want to live and work to experience africa's diverse beauty and cultural societies that's what africans want for their children and their children's children, and it's the africa that all of us can help bring to light. i have never been more optimistic about africa's future. i know that president obama and the secretary feel the same way. the secretary deserves an enormous amount of credit for

her leadership in bringing this conference together. it's now my pleasure to turn the floor over to her. secretary pritsger? >> thank you. good morning and welcome to all the heads of state and leaders of businesses here with us today. and thank you to michael bloomberg for your leadership and thank you to bloomberg philanthropies in your partnership in planning this conferenc conference. i have known michael bloomberg for over a decade. he's been a great source of wisdom and advice to me. and i have admired the way he led new york city, the way he's run his businesses and the way

he's committed himself and his organization to africa and it's people. it is always a great pleasure to work with him and as part of the largest gathering of african heads of state ever posted by an american president, we are both excited to welcome you to this historic event, bringing together a remarkable number of business opportunities in africa. last year, president obama traveled to the university of cape town to usher in a new chapter of the u.s./africa relationship. he called on students there along with leaders from the 54 distinct countries of the african union and leaders from the united states to embrace key tenants of his vision for our alliance. to advance progress in democratic institutions. to strengthen peace and prosperity. to encourage opportunity and

development. and to spur economic growth, trade and investment. as america's chief commercial officer, i feel strongly that this last pillar, the u.s./africa economic relationship is fundamental to our mutual peace and prosperity. we know that businesses serve as a key bridge between our continents, but we also share the conviction that the ties of commerce can be stronger, deeper and more lasting. when i led a trade mission to ghana last may, i heard a variation of this message from public and private sector leaders alike. the u.s./africa commercial partnership is essential. and the time to do business in africa is no longer five years away. the time to do business there is

now. today, on both sides of the atlantic, there is a clear, mutual desire to deepen our ties of trade and investment because doing so will spur growth across the united states and the countries of africa. investing in africa will create jobs in charlotte, north carolina, and expand the power supply in ghana, because of the $175 million deal signed by seww energy to upgrade electricity grid. a direct result of your recent trade mission. investing in africa will support workers in california and strengthen the health of patients in nigeria because of the mou signed by chemical corporation to construct a state of the art cancer institute. investing in africa was for job growth in cincinnati through procter & gambles $300 million

investment in a new manufacturing plant. because when p&g expands in nigeria and elsewhere, it supports thousands of jobs at home. these deals demonstrate that the time is right to work together as partners in a spirit of mutual understanding and respect. to raise living standards in all of our nations and to address the challenges that impede our ability to develop closer economic bonds. make no mistake, our economic and commercial partnership is a two-way street. goods and services, exports from the united states to african markets support roughly 250,000 jobs here at home. as africa's middle class continues to expand, we hope to see our export numbers grow, too. and through select usa, the administration is actively

encouraging african companies to increase their presence here in the united states. closer economic ties and rising demand create ample opportunities for businesses in the united states and africa to build new partnerships, reach new markets and support new jobs in the years to come. with each passing day, our commercial connections are deepening. our business bonds are increasing and our trade partnership is maturing. yet we have only just begun to scratch the surface. president obama and the department of commerce are ready to write the first pages of the new chapter of our relationship by taking our alliance to the next level. to advance the president's vision for africa, we are expanding our foreign commercial service presence. these are our economic diplomats

on the ground in country that help american businesses navigate each african market. we are doubling the number of commercial offices in africa with new sites in angola, ethiopia and tanzania. we're expanding offices in ghana, kenya, libya andmore rack koe, and we are returning a foreign commercial service presence to the african development bank for the first time in three years. the department of commerce, along with your partners at the u.s. trade and development agency, is today announcing ten new trade missions to africa and ten reverse trade missions to the united states by 2020. our national institute of standards and technology is launching the global cities teams challenge to create teams of cities and innovators working together on issues like air

quality, resource management, health care delivery and modern energy grids to utilize the best technology to build smart cities. and to promote u.s. industry engagement in africa, we have created a one-stop shop web portal. trade.gov, think doing business in africa. where american businesses can learn about african markets, find financing tools and discover potential projects, contacts and resources. we want to make doing business in africa easier for every american company. this is the moment of opportunity. a decade from now we will look back at this moment as the start of something important. or see a missed opportunity. the choice is up to all of us gathered here today. today's agenda features

conversations on financing and development, energy and infrin a infrastructu infrastructure, all meant to highlight the choices before us. this historic forrum will spotlight successful business models and give you a chance to explore new partnerships, new relationships with colleagues on the other side of the atlantic. this gathering marks only the beginning, a catalyst for each of us to pursue new deals and new investments as we build the next phase of the partnership between the united states and africa. one of the highlights of my trade mission to africa this spring was visiting the meltd water spre preneurorale school of technology in ghana where young innovators received the training, mentorship and guidance needed to take their ideas and turn them into vibrant

businesses. these young africans want to learn how to build thriving enterprises. if they had access to capital, there would be no limit to their potential. with the speed of technology today and the global reach of the communication, these spre neu an tre preneuros can build their businesses using only a cell phone. any young person with a good idea can bring their products to the rest of the globe. at melt water, i witnessed what the future of ghana and the entire continent of africa will look like. if we do everything we can to support young entrepreneurs and continue to build lasting partnerships. these aspiring entrepreneurs are living proof of what robert f. kennedy described nearly 50 years ago at the university of cape town, they represent ripples of hope.

indeed, every entrepreneur in ghana, nigeria, angola or elsewhere who starts a business and embraces a new idea represents a ripple of hope for the prosperity of a community. every student in morocco, ethiopia or elsewhere who earns a degree and joins the work force represents a ripple of hope for the future of a family. every business owner in kenya or elsewhere who decides to reach new customers by exporting more goods represents a ripple of growth for the growth of a country and every african leader who embraces greater transparency and market access speeds business processes and roots out corruption represents a ripple of hope for greater prosperity for their people and for ours. so, together, these ripples of hope will form a torrential

current that lifts up all of us on a wave of opportunity. this is our mission today to work together to promote the future of shared prosperity. for both the united states and the nations of africa. as faith mangopae told other young african leaders and president obama just this past week and i quote -- africa is no longer a sleeping giant but is awake and open for business. with the leadership in this room, we will keep the u.s./africa economic partnership open for more growth and success. we will keep the united states and africa open for business, your business. thank you very much. enjoy the day. [ applause ].

on the next washington journal, mike duncan of the american coalition for clean coal energy discussing why coal and the obama's administration action plan have become high profile issues in campaign 2014. after that, karen white of the national education association. she looks at why the nea plans to spend $40 million on the mid-term elections. plus your phone calls, facebook comments and tweets. washington journal on c-span live every morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern. tuesday morning the progressive policy institute holds a discussion on cyber security and the current challenges facing the federal communications commission, certaining wireless and net neutrality. you can watch that here on c-span3. more now from this year's

africa summit with remarks by vice president joe biden and john kerry. this is an hour and 20 minutes. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to vice president of the united states, joe biden. ♪ good afternoon, everyone. you must be tired by now. i'm probably your 412th speaker, but i'm flattered that i was invited. i want to welcome the visiting heads of state, ministers from almost every country in africa, members of the diplomatic core and members of congress, entrepreneurs, investors from across africa and the united

states. and i want to recognize our co-host, a very good friend of mine, a great guy, the former mayor of new york city, michael bloomberg whose commitment to developing the great -- [ applause ]. he warrants clapping. whose commitment to the great potential of africa is matched only by his vision for that development. and a great champion of american business our united states secretary of commerce, penny pritzker, for all of you from africa, i would recommend get to know her. there's two things you should know about her, one she's the secretary of commerce and two, she's smarter than you. it took me a while to figure that out, about ten seconds, but she knows of what she speaks. she's excited to be co-hosting this as well. i don't have to tell the folks assembled in this room -- although with these lights i can't see you -- that africa is

emerging. one of -- emerging as a continent of just incredible youthful energy and limitless promise. that energy is fueled by a population whose median age is less than 20 years of age. and i think the population of africa shares president obama's view when he said and i quote -- i do not see the country's and people's of africa as a world apart. i see africa as a fundamental part of an interconnected world. growing at nearly 5% last year with a gdp of more than 2.5 trillion dollars, 90 million african households have household incomes that exceed $5,000 a year. exports have quadrupled since the year 2000.

more wealth has been created in the last ten years than any previous decade in history. i had an opportunity to meet with the president of south africa today and i made a bit of a joke. we're talking about investment, not only in south africa but around the entire continent, and mr. mayor, i said, i started my career as a 30-year-old kid trying to get businesses to disinvest in south africa and now i'm busting my neck to get them to invest. so that's the market of progress we've made here, folks. i mean, it's a completely different paradyme and it's good. america is excited about the prospects of africa because africa possesses two incredible resources. an overwhelming abundance of natural resources and the resources of its people. and both, both, its people and its natural resource, warrant

significant investment and development. i would like to focus just for a moment on the people. as i said when i spoke yesterday at the african civil society meeting, the people of africa and their leaders are attempting to tackle the establishment of sound, political and economic institutions, the creation of wealth that reaches beyond the elites to provide people with economic opportunity throughout the continent, including women and girls, forging of peace in some countries still torn apart, protection of the health of your citizens and you all know the great talent that exists in africa. but turning that talent, even into greater capability, requires significant commitment and significant investment. but if africa's governance and

institutions can put its people into position commensurate with their possibilities the sky is the limit. i mean, it is limitless. there's no region in the nation of africa cannot and should not join the ranks of the world's most prosperous neighs in the near term, in the decades ahead. there's simply no reason. as we look to the future to try to help realize that vision, the question is no longer -- when i got here as a young man, as a young senator on the foreign relations committee, the question was always asked, what can we do for africa? that's no longer the question. it's what can we do with africa. not what we can do for africa. what can we do together? what can we do together? and i mean that. the president means it as well. i believe there's a significant opportunity for the united states and africa to do more that benefit both our peoples.

this is america's economic self interest. $50 billion in u.s. exports to africa already support a quarter of a million american jobs right here in the united states. africa -- african consumers are spending 1.3 trillion dollars. and that's projected to double by the year 2030. at the same time, agoa, the african growth and community act allowed more than 6,400 to reach africans duty free. ranging from vehicles to vegetables. since 2010, non-oil exports from sub sa harnt africa to the united states have almost quadrupled. i see no reason why -- this is

not hyperbole, i see no reason why trade and investment between the united states and africa should not double or triple or even quadruple in the decades ahead. but to get there, each of us has a whole lot of work to do and no one knows that better than the people and particularly the heads of state sitting in this audience. to start, american businesses have to show up. my dad used to say to me as a young man, he said, joey, half of winning is just showing up. american businesses have to show up and they are showing up. and they're doing it in greater and greater numbers. to compete alongside india, chinese, european companies for african trade and investment. sort of stamped into our dna, we like to compete. we welcome the competition. but because its not just how much we trade and invest that matters, it's how we do it. we can always do better. but the united states is proud

of the extent to which our investment in africa goes hand in hand with our efforts to hire and train locals, to foster economic development and not just to extract what's in the ground, to protect human lights, labor rights and protect the environment, to create new opportunities for women and girls. a famous columnist here in the united states says women are half of the sky. they are half the sky. and to win contracts and friends on the merits, not through kickbacks or bribes. this can be hard when others cut corners, but we believe it's absolutely worth it. not only to help growth but also to engrain a set of rules of the road that are fair and decent to all competitors. because the ties we are building

are ties that have to last. the rules we're advancing are rules that will benefit us all. and the prosperity we are promoting is prosperity we can sustain together if we do it correctly at the front end. the united states government has a great deal of work to do as well to help realize the full promise of this moment. and you'll hear about that from many other u.s. officials, particularly one that will be following me in an hour and a half or so who i just left, the president of the united states. we're working with the united states congress to renew agoa before it expires next year. we're working to connect more african companies with american businesses. and the united states is also providing more direct support to make trade and investment easier. our export/import bank, financed the record $1.7 billion in exports to africa over the past

ten years. we should do more. the oversees private investment corporation, opec has financed nearly $3 billion in projects across africa under president obama. and every dollar invested by opec has sparked on average $2.60 in additional private sector investment. u.s. trade and development agency has funded over 100 projects expected to generate over $1 billion in u.s. exports while building up the infrastructure of africa. in each of these areas, president obama will announce very shortly significant new initiatives. we're also focussed on energy. i need not tell this audience two thirds of africa is still regularly go without electricity. if we can help you power africa, that will empower the people of africa to grow their economies.

that's why under president obama's leadership as he will discuss later today, the united states is helping to mobilize private investment and offer financing to help americans provide for -- excuse me, to help africa provide for yourselves, clean, affordable and abundant electricity, which is badly needed. today, the united states will sign a $500 million millennium challenge corporation contract with ghana to strengthen its energy sector. let me give you an example of u.s. efforts to help power africa look like in practice. last week the u.s. export/import bank authorized a loan guarantee to support long-term financing at azedu, the power plant on the ivory coast. the country is just emerging from a civil war. the commercial banks weren't ready to offer long-term

financing, but america stepped up to fill the gap by guaranteeing a loan for the west african development bank. and in so doing, we are helping azodo upgrade that facility to increase its output by nearly 50%. american jobs manufacturing steam turbines for export are from ska neck tany new york and maine. this is one project expected to increase the overall supply of electricity in the ivory coast by as much as 15%. and create one of the most efficient power plants in west africa. as much as we hope to accomplish in partnership with you, we also know that nothing would be more consequential to african future than the steps nations take to em pow your people to make the most of their talents. of course, to state the obvious,

no two countries in africa or anywhere else are the same. no two countries will do it the same way. but there are certain common ingredients to success in the 21st century that have become self evident. the need for greater economic integration. a court system that adjudicates disputes fairly. a commitment to invest in all of a society's people and respect their rights. because countries that respect citizen's equal rights no matter who they love, their religion, tend to be the most attractive to attracting international talent and international investment. it's good business. it's just simply good business. rules that level the playing field for private companies, it's good business. regulations that make it easier to start businesses. today, there is genuine success,

a number of stories that can be pointed to. business startups costs in africa have fallen nearly 70%. startup costs for businesses have fallen nearly 70% just since 2007. the time to start new business has been cut in half. it's no surprise then that 400,000 new companies worldwide have registered last year to do business in africa. that's a big deal. [ applause ]. when the world bank ranked the 50 most improved countries with respect to efficient business regulations, 20 of them, 20 of the 50 were in africa, including the most improved environment in the world, rwanda. we all know there's a great deal more work to do, but we all know the way to get it done.

it's hard but we know the path. we know that in the unforgiving daylight of the global economy, investments can and will go elsewhere when it sees excessive regulation, a broken judiciary or wide-spread corruption. there's a reason why, mr. mayor and madame secretary, after years the united states of america is once again the destination of all the major companies in the world considered the best environment in the world to invest because we have a court system that's real. it works. corruption is de minimis, energy costs, et cetera. i think what we underestimate the most and i think the leaders all here know it, is corruption is a cancer. it's not just ethically wrong, it's economically crippling.

by some measures, elicit financial flows out of africa in recent decades, including corruption, measure in the hundreds of billions of dollars. some studies have estimated over a trillion dollars. corruption is a global problem, it's not an african problem. it's present everywhere from the ukraine to east asia to even here in the united states. and we have to take it on together. that's why president obama helped launch the open government partnership where eight african nations, the united states and 55 other nations act together on a common commitment to a more open transparent and accountable institutions. and that's why america is doing its part to ensure our legal and financial systems cannot be exploited to launder the proceeds of corruption and theft from africa. this includes new proposals from president obama to prevent the

use of unanimous u.s. registered shell companies. that's why we've joined 23 african countries in the extractive industries transparency initiative. that's a mouthful, but there's a lot there. because africa's natural wealth should not be stolen and repetriuated under the cover of darkness. it should enrich africa's people under the rule of law. i'm known as the mayor will tell you in the white house as the white house optimist. i feel very good about that because when they say that it implies i'm the new guy that i haven't been around a long while. i've been there longer than all of them, but i'm more optimistic today than i have when i got elected as a 29-year-old kid as a united states senator, because the promise and potential around the world, particularly in africa, is immense.

it is immense. and africa's economic future is profound. i'm optimistic about my own country. you know, i have traveled about a million miles just since being vice president. and i don't think there's a major leader in the world i haven't met over the last 30 years, just because of my job, not my consequence. and i'm reminded by some world leaders what i have told them in the past and i say it again, it's never, never ever been a good bit to bet against america. it is never, ever been a good bet to bet against america. and america is betting on africa. the idea, the idea and the reality are just immense, possibilities are immense. we're betting on each other.

africa on america, america on africa. and what we can accomplish together for the enormous benefit of our people. i will end, if you'll forgive me, by quoting one of my favorite poets. john kerry who you'll hear from next, tell me my colleagues always kidded me because i'm always quoting irish poets. they think i quote irish poets because i'm irish. that's not the reason. i quote them because they're the best poets in the world. that's why i quote them. one of my favorite contemporary poets who just passed away once wrote in a poem called "the cure of troy." he said, history says don't hope on this side of the grave. but then, once-in-a-lifetime

that tidal wave of justice rises up and hope and history rhyme. we have a chance. you have a chance. you have a chance in africa to make hope and history rhyme in a way that has never occurred before. we want to be your partners. we want to compete for your business. we want to compete for your hearts and your interest. and we want to see you succeed because when you succeed, the entire world succeeds. thank you for giving me the time. i look forward to meeting you all tomorrow. thank you. [ applause ]. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome secretary of state of the united states, the honorable

john f. kerry. ♪ >> good afternoon, everybody. i've had a chance to be able to say a few words to a number of you at a few different events in the course of yesterday and even today, but i appreciate this chance to be part of the business forrum. i want to thank first of all the vice president, who has been a friend of mine for 35 or 40 years now, 29 of them in the senate. and i thank him for his contribution of conscious and of commitment to africa that he has made for as long as he has been in public life. in the senate, we worked hand in hand on darfur, south sudan. as the vice president said, he has traveled far and wide but especially as vice president to ghana, kenya, south africa, to help build transparent and

accountable institutions and to help lift millions of people out of poverty. i also want to especially thank michael bloomberg for everybody -- and everybody has, it's appropriate, the bloomberg philanthropies for sponsoring this event. michael's contribution to africa comes not just in the form of this summit, but through his latest commitment of $10 million that he made just this february to african countries to build media capacity with a business focus and to promote reliability in reporting, educational opportunities and the transparencies that the vice president just talked about that markets needs in order to give capital confidence and in order to grow. and finally, i also want to thank penny pritzker. fellow member of the president's cabinet, but a terrific partner in our endeavors to make certain that people understand that in this globalized world, in the

transformative societies we're living in today, that economics -- excuse me -- is not divorced from foreign policy. it is foreign policy. and foreign policy is economic policy. they absolutely go hand in hand and we are working very, very closely to marry the efforts of the commerce department and the state department in order to assist companies and to work for american business but also to work for the countries that we represent in terms of their interests and their vision and their aspirations. penny, as you all know, spent 30 years building a business empire, literally. she understands that the investments in africa are a two-way street. and when we help nations stand on their own two feet, we create opportunity elsewhere in the world and that everybody benefits as a result of that.

now, my singular responsibility and privilege is to represent the united states of america in our diplomacy. i get to wear the hat of the top diplomat of the state department and it's a privilege. but i want to say something to you today that is not just from the business perspective, but comes from the wearing of that hat, which is a reflection of the people i see and the countries i visit, the leaders i meet and talk with, the aspirations that i hear, all of them express, and the firsthand opportunity i get to sink my teeth into other people's culture, other people's history and see the world as they see it and see even america as they see it. everyone here understands that we are living in a very

different world from two years ago, from five years ago, ten years ago and certainly from the world that emerged with the fall of berlin wall and the end of the cold war. forces had been released everywhere that have changed everything because of their own ideology in many cases or in some cases just outlook on the world. but also because other things have changed. a world -- i sat with a number of young diplomats in the state department not so long ago and one of them recently minted from college in the foreign service school and this new world of technology made a very profound observation to me, which has had an impact on my thinking about power and how it works. he said that a world where power used to be defined exclusively in hierarchies, is now a world

where power is defined in networks. and in much of africa and across the networked world, it is evident -- we heard the statistics earlier of the number of people who have cell phones in africa today -- everybody shares everything with everybody all the time. and the fact is that that changes politics. it changes the cross currents of decision making. it changes how political leaders can or can't build consensus in order to try to make decisions and bring their people along with them as they make those decisions. it also obviously profoundly changes business, something that bloomberg has understood way ahead of the curve, which is why they've been so successful. it changes hopes and dreams and aspirations. and every political leader and every business needs to be tuned into that reality no matter how

hard some powerful leader of a country might desire, no one can put this jeannie back in the bottle and change what is happening. so, because of that, we face a very common challenge, all of us together. in africa, there are some $700 million people under the age of 30. a staggering youth bulge, unknown at any time on the face of this planet. and the fact is that all of them -- or most of them -- not all of them, but most of them with their increasing awareness of this world we live in are desperate for opportunity, yes, but also for dignity and for respect. on the other side, we all know too well there are extremists,

too many radical religious extremists, who distort theology, religion, and even ideology. and they are prepared to seduce these young people in a very calculated and disciplined way to lure them into what is nothing less than a dead end. and we've seen the instability that this creates, all of us. and what's important is that none of them, none of those extremists, they don't offer an education that helps a young person gain a skill. they don't help anybody to be able to compete. they don't have one idea about a health system. they don't build infrastructure. they don't tell you how to build a nation. and they don't talk about how they would provide jobs or offer a vision for the future. they are stuck in the past. they're challenges ma dernty and because of it it's our

challenge, too. so, there's something else about those extremists and it reflects a little bit on what the vice president just said to you. it's not just the lack of jobs and opportunity that give them their opening and their recruitment tools. they're just as content to see corruption and aloe garky and resource exploitation fill a vacuum because it may look like economic growth on paper, but that's another way that they can seize on the frustration and exploit the sense of lack of opportunity and violation that is the anger of so many people to whit, a young fruit vendor. there's another target that they can turn to. they are the swing voters in a

sense in the struggle against extremism. so, my friends, that is our challenge. it's not just to come here and do business. that's important, obviously. it is the key, the economic key to the future. and we have to do business to grow the jobs pror s provide th skills, provide the tax base to be able to do the things we want to do, but we have to come together, all of us with a unified vision and a purpose so that we can present this growing number of young people in africa and across the world with a viable alternative, quality education. with skills for the modern world. and with jobs that allow them to build a life and have a family and have confidence in their countries. all of us together have the greatest stability of any people on the planet to be able to provide this opportunity. and it's not just economics that creates the sustainable growth in shared prosperity. it's also this larger vision of

what life is about and why there is a greater purpose than just living to work. you have to work to live and there has to be a living there that's worth it. so we know beyond any doubt that the places -- and this is polite summary of an experience here in america where we do not profess to have all the answers nor would we suggest to you that ours is the only track, but one thing that we have learned is that in the places where people are free not just to develop an idea but to debate different ideas. to have not just a job but the promise of innovation, entrepreneurship, to transform the best ideas into reality and into a business and into a future, those are the societies that absolutely are the most successful and the most stable on our planet.

and this success is not a mystery. it's not something that's hard to achieve if you make the right choices. it's possible for all of africa. and that is how one can choose to have an africa that's is not defined any longer, as it has not been for these last 10 and 15 years as it goes through this transformation defined by conflict less and less, but it becomes an africa that is defined by rights and by capacity, by dignity, respect and opportunity. and opportunity is something that bow koe ha ram and many other groups will never ever provide. so when the united states is home to some of the most innovative and well known and respected companies in the world and when africa is already home to some of the fastest-growing economies in the world and new leadership that is anxious to grab the future, we have to do

more together. we have to partner, which is the theme of this conference, to invest in the next generation. to create good jobs for young africans. to provide families with clean power and clean water. to build societies where an open exchange of ideas and information are the defining hallmark. businesses is not just the sake of business, all of you know that, at least not for most of the thoughtful business people here and in our country. it is for providing the foundation for people to be able to live their lives with that opportunity, dignity and respect. i don't have to remind anybody here that nelson mandela, one of the greatest leaders the world has ever seen in all time did not spend 27 years in jail so that he could get out and run a business with no disrespect to anybody here. he did it so that people of his

country would have an opportunity to live up to an ideal. he did it for rights. human rights, that are the foundation of any civilized society. and those rights across the continent are best lived out, best given meaning in strong countries with strong economies where prosperity is shared by a strong middle class. so i close by just saying there is absolutely no question in my mind from the excitement that we felt yesterday at the first meeting to the energy that we felt in all of your presence here and in the meetings and discussions thus far, all of this is not just possible, it is the future. but we have to make the right choices about skills and education and opportunities. and that will define the u.s./africa partnership. and if we work together, if everybody gets this right, this, this meeting at this moment and the days ahead of us can

literally become a pivotal, defining moment for our future history and for the world. thank you all very, very much. [ applause ]. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage, the president of the republic of rwanda. [ applause ]. >> the president of the republic of sene gal. the president of the republic of south africa. the president of the republic of tunisia. the president of the united republic of tanzania. and our moderator, co-anchor, cbs this morning an core and executive editor, mr. charlie

rose. >> thank you. thank you. [ applause ]. >> thank you very much. you have heard in the days of this summit that it is historic. you just heard the vice president and the secretary of state talk about its significance that it is change things, that it is a summit that is historic. you have also heard that this is africa's moment. that this 21st century is africa's century. you know that a lot of people, not just in the united states, are paying attention. but african leaders are here. and as we hear from people in the west who want to talk about africa's moment and africa's potential and africa as a partner, what we hope to hear here this afternoon is from africans who lead their countries in difficult times, talk about the economy, talk about security, talk about education, talk about infrastructure, talk about

governance, but also talk about their own vision as how they see africa. and i want to start with the question this afternoon as how they see where africa is, what they expect, what they need, and what they would like to see done. so i will begin and we'll go down the row because they don't speak with the same voice, obviously. they have different issues and different problems, but we're talking about a continent. and i want to hear from them in terms of the significance of this conference and what you expect and what you need and how you see what you've been hearing here. would you reflect on that for me? >> i start it? >> yeah. >> okay. well r well, this conference is significant in the sense that,

one, it's the first of its kind, the first ever. we have the u.s./africa summit bring all african leaders together, meeting africa and the u.s. leadership. of course, the u.s. has relations with all the countries gathered here, political, diplomatic, we receive assistance from them. but a meeting that brings together the u.s. government and the u.s. private sector, this is something unique. and we have a lot of expectations because we want to move not only from our relationship to not only be relations between a donor and a recipient, but we want to move to the level -- the next level now of investments and trade.

and my colleagues can compliment. many of us have been visiting the united states, doing road shows in many towns, investment forrums, talk to u.s. businessmen and we have not been as successful. i think this time the president of the united states, the vice president, secretary of state, secretary of commerce telling the -- encouraging the u.s. business community to take africa seriously, i think this time we'll make it. [ applause ]. >> good. >> of course, i think that our states -- africa states are extremely interested in promoting relationship with the united states with the american business community, of course.

because if we want to solve some of our social and economic problem, we badly need the support of the united states and the american business community. but i must say also that we have to learn from history. let me think -- let me try to imagine the problem from the prospective of african woman, african young, african citizens. for them, of course, it's very important that, you know the figures are better, that there is an improvement between the united states and africa and so forth. but i think what is most important for those citizens is to improve the quality of the life. so get better services, health, education, and so forth. and sometimes, you know, having

an important business community doesn't mean automatically that the life would improve. for instance, we can see in africa what we're seeing in many other countries, widening the gap between rich and poor. more and more pollution and so forth. so we have to have -- to keep this in mind and to be sure that improving business climate, improving the economic figures and so forth, that's not enough for the african citizens. we have to link -- and this is the main lesson that we have to learn from history and from the experience of other countries, we have to link social development, political development and economic development, otherwise we are going to make these same errors that have been made elsewhere. and then i wouldn't say it would be nothing because of course if we do improve the faith of 100

million people, it's important. like what's happened in china, for instance. >> right. >> but that's the lesson that we have to grow from what happened elsewhere is that really we have to link social economic -- that means social justice, political development, that means democracy and human rights and fighting against corruption and then the economic development. if we don't link those three factors, what we are going to have is -- well, another situation leading to another crisis, leading to another crisis and it will never end with it. [ applause ]. >> thank you very much for the opportunity. well, firstly we believe that this come together is going to help enhance the relations

between the united states and africa. it will certainly consolidate what is there as the relations. i think that this is an opportunity for us as the african leaders to interact firstly with the government and secondly with the business community in the united states. that is very important. i also think it came at the right time when africa is, in fact, organizing itself better than before in terms of how economically it is looking at itself. how it is developing necessary things like the infrastructure.

how it is looking at itself the intertrade within africa which puts it in kind of a better position. but also it came at an opportune moment, when as you know, agoa, which has been the kind of very clear instrument for our relationship is left with one year to elapse. and we are saying we have an opportunity to deal with those issues, to put our views to the united states that would want the extension of agoa, so that we could have a better kind of relationship between us. we now have an experience that we can discuss better as to what is it that we need to do to better consolidate and enhance our relations as the two.

so, it is, i think, an opportunity that came at an opportune time. and i'm sure, we will -- when we end this interaction, we'll be better placed to deal with our relations. [ applause ]. >> thank you very much. i will speak in french. i'm sorry. maybe you will need to tell your cast. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> translator: i would like very seriously to tell you how much i appreciate the initiative of president obama to call for this meeting between africa and united states. it's a historical opportunity which allows us to confirm the change of perspective towards a

vision of africa, africa which used to need aid. i'm going to give you an example. the magazine "the economist" in may 2000, its headline was, with a picture, of course, you had a young guy and it said africa at war and it said the hopeless continent. ten years later, the same magazine "the economist" had a title about growth in africa and it said, "a lion in a cage" and the title was -- "uncaging the lion." so this image, within ten years, shows you how africa has changed. together, we must modify this

perception here. the business community in the united states would feel more at ease, more confident in order to work with the african private sector. first of all, in africa. africa is a huge continent. there is room for everybody. americans, europeans, chinese, you name it, everybody has its place in africa. it is an africa of over -- continent over 30 million square kilometers. everything has to be made. roads, rail ways. there is opportunity for both africans and the rest of the world. africa must no longer be seen as a land of human tear emergency or diseases, for instance. even if right now we are facing a terrible epidemic, ebola, but these things will need to be treated. the world must be optimistic

towards africa. africa is a land of opportunity. this is the perception that we wanted to share with you. a land of opportunity where growth can be shared and earlier on i was following the speech made by vice president biden. he said that the american investment on the continent creates employment in the u.s. it [ applause ] >> i want to thank president obama and the united states for providing the opportunity for this summit. the united states and africa forging the kind of partnership that is very substantial and crucial to development,

>> i want to thank president obama and the united states for providing the opportunity for this summit. the united states and africa forging the kind of partnership that is very substantial and crucial to development, especially now. the points made by some people. people are talking about

partnering globally and locally. global and local together as the best way of creating a partnership, and i want to add that people are also talking about the growth that has been realized by the continent of africa. even when there are known problems that are talked about, for example, lack of electricity, lack of power, and some people are saying imagine what happens in terms of these growth rates across africa if there was no shortage of power.

you could talk about many other things. so for this partnership i think many things that exist in africa whether it's technology, business, trade investments, the benefits that come with that and these gaps being filled, just imagine what is going to be unleashed in terms of growth as well as development. but, of course, these come -- you have to -- you have to be grounds on which growth can translate into development. so, each of the members in the partnership have responsibilities and roles to play. on our side we can do more of

providing for business, years of doing the business. we have to continue investing in creating rule of law. we have to continue providing education to our people and the skills. many things including health, operations. we need to have a board of health. in addition to education, the

skills, this growth will continue for many years ahead. so for me the importance of this summit is very well captured in what we can do together, in the possibilities that can be provided by the united states of america whether it is technology, finance, it's different opportunities that would be availed in this partnership to africa for the continued growth and development of our people as well as the good returns and satisfaction of our american partners in terms of companies as well as the political establishment that is also behind the creation of this partnership. so this is where we're stuck. >> we want to talk about -- [ applause ] -- a story that was referenced

and is on the front pages of newspapers around the world is the ebola crisis. there is some concern that is being expressed loudly of a tipping point. tell me what your fears are about the ebola virus. obviously two heads of state are not here from sierra leone and liberia because they are, you know, on the front lines and trying to deal with that. what are your fears? what can be done? what kind of cooperation is taking place, both within africa and with other nations around the world? >> of course, the epidemic is in west africa. we are not in west africa. >> but planes go -- >> i'm not talking about that. but there was an ebola outbreak in the congo which borders that.

there was an outbreak last year in uganda, which borders tanzania, so we are also concerned and we have more importantly mechanisms of possible response. that's where it stands. i think we have established that so that just in case there is a report of a possible ebola -- ebola outbreak or ebola infected person, we do this evaluation and analysis and then confirm if it is there. so i think we are more taking the precaution, the precautions just in case. with a picture of course. you had a young guy with a kalashnikov.

he said, africa at war. he said, the hopeless continent. ten years later, the same magazine. the economist had the title about growth in africa. it said a lion in a cage. and the title was uncaging the lion. so this image within ten years shows you how africa as changed. together we must modify this perception here. the business community of the united states would feel more at ease, more confident in order to work with the african private sector. first of all in africa, africa is a huge continent. there is room for everybody. americans, europeans, chinese, you name it. everybody has its place in africa. it's a africa, over 30 million

square kilometers. everybody has to be made. roads, railways. there's opportunity for both, for africans and the rest of the world. africa must no longer be seen as a land of humanitarian emergency or diseases for instance. even if right now we are facing a terrible epidemic, ebola. but these things must be treated. africa is a land of opportunity. this is the perception that we wanted to share with you. a land of opportunity where growth can be shared and earlier on, i was following the speech made by vice president biden. he said that the american investment on the continent creates employment in the u.s. it benefits american growth. that's what he said. is it within this win-win partnership that we came to meet

our american brothers from which -- from whom we were separated so long. but we'll talk about that later. the separation concept. the continents, i mean. we are very happy to be here in order to engage especially with the american private sector and talk about the perspectives of africa today. thank you. >> -- my colleagues here on the panel, thank you. thank you to president obama and the administration of the united states for providing the opportunity for us to bring this

together in the united states and africa, to forge the kind of partnership that is very essential and crucial to the world events, especially now. and that to me -- refers to the earlier points made by some people on your panels. people are talking about partnering globally and locally. global and local together. as the best way of creating a partnership. and i want to add that people also are talking about the growth, the rates that have been realized by your continent of africa. even when there are known problems that you also talked about, for example, lack of electricity, lack of power. and some are saying imagine what wufb -- would have been in terms of these growth rates across africa if there was no shortage of power. you could talk about many other things. so through this partnership, i think many gulfs that exist in africa today, whether it's business. trade investment. the benefits that come with this and these gaps being filled just imagine what is going to be unleashed in terms of growth as

well as development. but of course these come -- you have to be grounds on which growth can translate into the government. so each of the members in the partnership have responsibilities and roles to play. from outside we still have to do more of providing for business. ease of doing business. we have to continue investing in creating rule of law. we have to continue providing

education to our people and the skills. many things including health, operations. need to have good health. you know, in addition to education, to skills, this growth will continue for many as it has. so for me, the importance of this summit is very well captured in what we can do together in the possibilities that can be provided by the united states of america whether it's finance, it's different opportunities that would be availed in this partnership to africa for the continued growth and development of our people as well as the good returns and satisfaction of our american

partners, in terms of companies as well as the establishment which is also behind the creation of this partnership. so this is where we stand. >> we want to talk -- a story that was referenced is on the front pages of newspapers around the world is the ebola

crisis. government agencies, ministers, public officers, anybody who has to deal with a budget now must make a statement of his own wealth. we have a national office of fight against corruption. we are trying to put in place instruments that can follow the evolution of economic growth in our country. so you have to be optimistic on africa. you have to start the fight for the development and i call upon american businessmen to come to africa. there's no more -- no risk in africa.

no more than other continents and you are -- your investment is much higher. the ebola virus, let me say how big is my solidarity towards the victims. i'm a neighbor of guinea. i'm almost a neighbor of sierra leone. we are in the crucible, in the eye of the cyclone. but i will tell the international community that ebola is a devastating virus. it is not an african disease. you have to see this virus as a threat against humanity. it is a threat against humanity because with intercontinental flights, all you need is a flight to the u.s. and to europe so that you have a world crisis, a total crisis. so we have to mobilize the entire community, all the scientists in the world. all the researchers have to work on that in order to win. just like we did it for the

plague, t.b., like aids is being vanquished. so it is this solidarity of the international community that we are requesting. to support the victims. >> go here first. go ahead. either way. you decide. >> thank you. thank you. let me compliment what my brother just said, but in a different way. i think even threw the partnership like this one, provided by the opportunity of this summit africa needs -- we need to continue building our capacities and strengthening our institutions, to enable us to avoid over dependency that has been there for too long. but we avoided that by building capacities and cooperation and integration. people working together.