Reports to Congress
ADF's 2004 annual performance report is
now available. DOWNLOAD>>
ADF JOINS OFFICIAL uS DELEGATION ATTENDING THE INAUGURATION OF BENIN'S NEW PRESIDENT
ADF Chair Ward Brehm will accompany Assistant Secretary of State Karen Hughes as US Diplomats offer Congratulations and Support to Benin's new President Yayi Boni.
WASHINGTON - April 3, 2006
The White House announced today that the Chairman of the African Development Foundation (ADF), Ward Brehm, of Wayzata, Minnesota, will join U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, Ambassador Karen Hughes, as President Bush’s official emissaries to the inauguration of Benin’s newly elected president, Dr. Yayi Boni.
The delegation will depart Washington tomorrow to attend Dr. Boni’s inauguration in Porto Novo, Benin on Thursday.
“I’m honored to have the opportunity to represent our nation and demonstrate America’s continued support for Benin as it inaugurates a new president,” Mr. Brehm said. “The people elected Dr. Boni their president through free and fair elections last month. I look forward to saluting Benin’s continued commitment to democracy, and the U.S. delegation will applaud Dr. Boni’s commitments to curb corruption and ensure transparency and accountability.”
Following his trip to Benin, Brehm will be traveling to Liberia, where he will be joined by ADF President, Rodney J. MacAlister, and the Foundation’s CEO of Africa Operations, Nate Fields, to meet with President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and other government officials and Liberian business people. The ADF delegation will confer with President Johnson-Sirleaf on how the Foundation can assist Liberia in its recovery from civil conflict through support for the growth of small enterprises and through investment in agricultural producer groups.
Mr. Brehm attended an official state luncheon at the White House on March 21 where he welcomed President Johnson-Sirleaf to the United States and promised ADF support for the troubled-but-promising nation.
“President Johnson-Sirleaf is the kind of leader Africa needs more of, one committed to integrity, economic development, free markets and, most importantly, her people,” Brehm continued. “When I met President Johnson-Sirleaf at the White House last month, I pledged that ADF would work hard to find ways to support economic development in Liberia, and that is a promise ADF intends to keep.”
President George W. Bush appointed Brehm ADF chairman in 2004.
The African Development Foundation (ADF) is a United States Government agency dedicated to expanding access to economic opportunity in Africa. Over the past 20 years, ADF has funded 1,600 projects in support of African entrepreneurs and local African communities. For more information on ADF, its programs and its application guidelines, visit: www.adf.gov.