As you know, I have been making an effort not to post about the upcoming wedding except as the story involves MOTB/SOS Clinton. So I was enjoying a bit of a break from furiously trying to get items from the State Department posted today. There were releases, but except for her schedule, they did not pertain to Mme. Secretary. I had even been so bold as to mentally design little vacation for her once the big wedding weekend was behind her. As I type this, the wedding party and other principle players are here on the Hudson in this beautiful setting.
This is Rondout Light on the mighty and beautiful Hudson River that my family and I have been sailing for almost 400 years. If you turn left at that lighthouse, you enter an adorable, quaint inlet that takes you to Kingston, N.Y. It is lovely. Across from the lighthouse, on the hill you can see the two tents that have been erected for tomorrow’s festivities. The gathering has begun, and the speculation and chatter are reaching fever pitch.
So there I was, mental anchor down in front of the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office near the lighthouse looking across at Rhinebeck, in Dutchess County where all the excitement is beginning to play out. I was thinking how nice it has been that, even though we are not seeing our lovely SOS the MOTB, she is getting this break from the frenzy of her work. Under the fair sky, there on the deck of my boat, I speculated (not about the wedding, mind you) that she might take a few days while I lazily checked my email. Reality just came in and hit me right between the eyes in the form of this. The emphasis is mine.
Department of State Hosts 2010 AGOA Forum on U.S.-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Secretary Clinton to Address AGOA Forum
Washington, DC
July 30, 2010
The ninth U.S.-Sub Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum, also known as the Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), will take place on August 2-3 at the Department of State in Washington, D.C., and August 4-6 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Secretary Clinton will deliver remarks at the forum on August 3 at the Ronald Reagan Building. The remarks will be open to credentialed members of the media. More details will be forthcoming in the public schedule.
The AGOA Forum will bring together more than 600 participants, including senior U.S. and African officials, as well as U.S. and African members of the private sector and civil society. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, and USAID Administrator Raj Shah will also participate in forum events.
This year’s forum theme, “AGOA at 10: New Strategies for a Changing World,” will focus on the linkages between private investment and economic growth in Africa and highlight ways in which African countries can best take advantage of trade opportunities under AGOA.
In conjunction with the AGOA meetings, the African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP) is taking place in Washington, D.C., July 26 – August 3, and Kansas City, Missouri, August 4 – 6. AWEP brings together women from AGOA-eligible countries to participate in a plenary session entitled “Integrating Africa’s Women into the Global Economy.” AWEP works to empower African women entrepreneurs to become part of their national and global business network by increasing opportunities for women to use the AGOA program, and expanding opportunities for exports and U.S. investment in sub-Saharan Africa.
AGOA represents a progressive U.S. trade and investment policy toward the continent that is reducing barriers to trade, increasing diversified exports, creating jobs and expanding opportunities for Africans. Specifically, AGOA provides trade preferences to designated countries that are making progress in economic and political reforms. There are currently 38 Sub-Saharan African countries that can take advantage of the trade benefits.
As Ian and Sylvia said, so much for dreaming! I had hoped her country squire would whip her off for a second honeymoon, but our little Turbo-SOS will be back full-throttle at her job when the weekend is over. Forgive me for using these Tuesday pictures so much. They are the last ones available from this week, and I think she looks beautiful in them.
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