WEF participants to discuss role of Africa in new reality

CAPETOWN, May 4 (Itar-Tass) - The role of Africa in a new reality will
be discussed on Wednesday by participants in a World Economic Forum (WEF)
opening here. The meeting has drawn more than 800 regional and world
political and business leaders from 60 countries.
Katherine Tweedie, WEF Director for Africa, said the planet had
awakened and turned its gaze to Africa's yet untapped economic potential,
to which substantial investments come from China, India, and other
countries. This meeting, she said, will enable interested persons to
spotlight interconnection between political will, innovation cooperation,
and the economic boom in Africa.
Analysts note that during the world's recent economic recession Africa
manifested an unexpectedly high capacity to resist and became one of the
most rapidly developing regions of the world. Reinforcement of political
and macroeconomic stability, growing orientation towards investments in
the private sector and in the development of education, and the public
services sector have been observed on the continent. Last year most
African countries registered a 4.3 percent growth which is expected to
develop up to about 5.3 percent in 2011.