to turn
the corner, and growth of the disease is slowing in Liberia.

Despite the
challenges presented by Ebola, Africa presents tremendous long-term growth
opportunities, and both the U.S. government and the U.S. private sector are
committed to deepening our economic and commercial engagement on the continent.
Africa is home to six of the ten fastest-growing economies in the world –
including Chad, Congo, the Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Ethiopia, and Sierra Leone.
Real income has increased more than 30 percent, reversing two decades of
decline, and GDP is expected to rise 6 percent each year over the next decade.
By 2040, Africa will boast a larger workforce than either India or China.

The Discover
Global Markets Forum served to increase economic and commercial engagement in
Africa by helping companies launch or increase their business on the continent.
The event also built onthe success of the first-ever U.S.-Africa Business
Forum, which the Department of Commerce co-hosted in August. This Forum brought
together hundreds of American and African chief executives officers with nearly
every African head of state to spur more trade and investment between the
United States and Africa. At this Forum, U.S. firms announced more than $14
billion worth of investments throughout the continent.

Guest blog post by Stefan
M. Selig, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade

Yesterday, Secretary Pritzker and I announced that we will lead a high-level delegation
on an economic fact-finding trip to Poland and Turkey later this month. I
am excited to participate in the first PEC fact-finding mission for the Obama
administration.

That
delegation — members of the President’s Export Council (PEC) — is the principal
advisory committee on international trade to the president. It includes both
public