13 heads of state, 1000 delegates for WEF in Abuja

NO fewer than 13 heads of state and about 1,000 delegates are expected to participate in the World Economic Forum, WEF, on Africa beginning tomorrow in Abuja. Ms Elsie Kanza, Director, Head of Africa, disclosed this at a pre-event briefing on the WEF, yesterday, said the number was one of the largest the forum had witnessed in the many years it had been hosted in different countries. She said, “We are expecting more than a thousand participants from over 70 countries. More than half will come from African countries and many will come from the business communities, NGOs and religious groups.” She listed some of the heads of state that would be participating as China, Republic of Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Rwanda, Kenya, Algeria, Tunisia, Ghana, Mali, Senegal, Niger and the U.S. Kanza said that Nigeria as the largest economy in Africa has a great role to play in the region to ensure positive economic growth. According to her, Africa by 2040 would have larger work force than China, noting that the major focus of the forum would be on how best to ensure that Africa with its positive growth rate could be inclusive. She noted that 59 per cent of African youths were unemployed, adding that private sector participation would help to create job opportunities.