Conference Objectives Reasons to attend Attendees will be exposed to Internationally renowned and prominent speakers from industry High profile international policy makers from government and industry will be contributing their experiences Discussions which will give insight into the practical aspects of trade and investment challenges in Africa Practices of translating policies into workable documents Debates on identify the need for trade-related technical assistance and capacity-building in Africa Identification of concrete interventions and solution which will promote trade and investment in Africa and to attract FDI Background and Scope The challenge that NEPAD Council faces is one on how to translate intellectual and scientific capital into concrete strategies to promote development in Africa. Africa faces major socio-economic and political challenges in its quest to accelerate growth, reduce poverty and creating employment opportunities. Trade and investment has long been considered primary instruments in attracting foreign direct investments (FDI). In an attempt to promote growth and development in Africa, the overall purpose of this International Conference on Trade and Investment is to deliberate on how to reverse the trend of international divestment from Africa, sluggish intra- and inter- African trade, to promote Africa as a favourable destination for FDI and to identify practical strategies and solutions to promoting development in Africa. Conference Vision The vision of the intra- and inter regional International Trade and Investment Conference is to provide a framework to foster trade and investment in Africa by Improving the quality of support for trade-related technical assistance and capacity-building in Africa Developing appropriate intervention strategies and frameworks to foster intra- and inter-regional trade and investment in Africa Evaluating context-specific governmental, institutional and management requirements Implementing policies conducive to economic growth Attracting foreign direct investment Conference Objectives Coherent with the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) objectives, the Conference aims to identify enabling mechanisms for the implementation of intervention strategies at grass roots level. More specifically, the Conference objectives are to: Provide a critical assessment of current trade and investment climate in Africa Identify specific intra- and inter- regional needs in Africa Encourage multi-lateral co-operation between international investors and role-players, African academic institutions, business practitioners and policy makers Identify the need for trade-related technical assistance and capacity-building in Africa Establish a platform for initiating relevant research in critical trade and investment related matters Establish research networks for promoting NEPAD throughout Africa Showcase key development initiatives in Africa Facilitate the development of competitive investment attraction strategies for FDI Offer an International Conference for business leaders, policy makers, researchers and academics, from around the globe to share ideas, debate and build consensus around trade and investment issues in Africa Who should attend the Conference? The Conference aims to attract Business practitioners from multinational organizations Potential investors from major trading blocs High ranking inter-continental policy makers and government officials who influence trade and investment in Africa International academics and researchers Investment promotion agencies in Africa Trade associations and Chambers of Commerce NEPAD members NEPAD council members, consisting of African academics, based in the USA, Europe,  U.K., Africa and Asia