President Akufo-Addo to deliver keynote address at US National Governors Association

President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will on Sunday, February 25, 2018 become the first African President to address a meeting of the United States (US) National Governors Association (NGA) in Washington District of Columbia (DC). The NGA 2018 Winter Meeting is scheduled for February 23-26, 2018, at the JW Marriott Hotel in Washington DC.

President Akufo-Addo’s invitation to address the NGA is a part of efforts of the newly formed office by the NGA called NGA Global that will focus on relationships between US states and the international community, in a bid to foster international cooperation.

According to a mid-February 2018 NGA announcement, President Akufo-Addo said that: “I am honoured to be the first African President to be invited to address the National Governors Association… as the fastest-growing economy in Africa looks forward to working with NGA Global to identify investment opportunities and build stronger ties to American states, who are leading the way in a variety of sectors from agriculture and petroleum to finance and technology.”

A high-level government delegation will accompany Ghana’s President to the NGA bipartisan Winter Meeting discussions on international cooperation, education and workforce, technology and innovation, healthcare, and agriculture. The Presidential delegation will also partner the NGA to identify potential investment avenues that will be key to enhancing US-Ghana relations.

The President’s half-hour keynote address will be delivered at 11am, afterwards there will be a plenary session on the topic: ‘Workforce & Education‘ under the theme ‘Pathways to Prosperity: The Future of Innovation in Higher Education‘, that will feature the Governor of the state of Washington Jay Inslee Chair and Governor Dennis Daugaard of South Dakota.

Other persons expected to be present at that session include President of Arizona State University Michael M. Crow, Vice President of Education Policy and Knowledge Management at New America Kevin Carey, and Starbucks Partner Susana Mojica. For the full agendum of all 7 plenary sessions at the event visit www.nga2018.org/home- page/schedule

The NGA was founded in 1908 as a collective voice of governors in the US. It is one of Washington, DC’s most respected public policy organizations. Its members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths, their CEO is Scott Pattison.