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Washington, DC, June 3, 2009
-U.S. African Chamber of Commerce Said Obama’s Visit to Africa is
beginning of a new US- African Muslim Relationship however African Needs
More Investment, Increase Trade Opportunity and Access to Market and
Export. The White House said President Barack Obama's upcoming speech in
Cairo is part of a concerted effort to improve U.S. relations with the
Muslim world, but will not magically accomplish that goal by itself.
With anticipation and chatter surrounding President Obama's Cairo
address seemingly building by the day, the White House sought to temper
expectations about what the speech can - and cannot - accomplish. Press
Secretary Robert Gibbs:
"This is about resetting our relationship with the Muslim world. We do
not expect that everything will change after one speech. It will take a
sustained effort, and that is what the president is in for," he said.
Gibbs spoke hours before the president's scheduled departure for Saudi
Arabia, the first stop on a trip that will take Mr. Obama to Egypt,
Germany and France. Thursday, the president addresses the global Muslim
community from Cairo University.
The press secretary said that, if a single speech could "cure" America's
relationship with the Muslim world, it would have been delivered before
June.
Gibbs added that President Obama wants Muslims to hear America's
message: that the United States and the Muslim world share many common
hopes and dreams - and that, working together, those hopes and dreams
can be fulfilled.
Numerous experts on the Middle East and the greater Muslim world say Mr.
Obama's target audience will be more impressed by deeds than words,
especially regarding the ever-present Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In
advance of his trip, Mr. Obama has met with several Arab and Israeli
leaders, but the White House has given no indication that the president
will unveil dramatic new proposals in his Cairo speech.
The USACC is the leading advocacy organization for U.S. African
relations and emerging African markets. The USACC is the umbrella
organization for African chambers of commerce and professional trade and
business associations throughout the United States and abroad.
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