Events

Transport from the hotel to the conference venue 

Opening remarks

- Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, President, Institut Panafricain de Stratégies
- Karim El Aynaoui, Managing Director, OCP Policy Center
- Ian Lesser, Executive Director, Brussels Office and Senior Director for
- Foreign and Security Policy, German Marshall Fund of the United States

1^st Session: Prosperity and Interdependence: Transforming and Integrating Economies 

After years of strong and sustained economic growth, countries of the southern Atlantic are facing a more volatile and uncertain environment. This is due in part to falling agricultural and energy commodity prices, and the economic slowdown of major partners such as China. With many Latin American countries facing recession and structural readjustments, the outlook is uncertain. While unlikely to reach the heights of the early 2000s, growth rates in Africa are expected to strengthen. Despite clear challenges, the recent downturn should also be seen as a window of opportunity for reform as part of a long-term development agenda. 

Unlike what was experienced in other parts of the world, and particularly in countries such as Brazil, the green revolution of the previous decades has largely bypassed the African continent. The recent fall in commodity prices, and decrease in revenue for commodity-rich countries, could increase the focus on agriculture and fisheries while also incentivizing states to invest in new sectors and further diversify their economies. Following the COP21 agreement and ahead of the upcoming COP22 in Morocco, African countries are also poised to seize the opportunities of radically transforming the continent’s energy landscape. Efforts to foster trade through regional integration and the creation of trans-national value chains will be critical to diversifying Africa’s economies, and to increasing the regions’ competitiveness globally. Furthermore, rapid technological advances have the potential to generate new opportunities for business and drive structural changes.

- What strategies have countries around the Atlantic used to transition from high growth rates to inclusive and transformative growth?
- What concrete steps are governments across the Atlantic taking to diversify and shore up their economies?
- What role can Africa’s rising middle class play in transforming economic and social conditions? What lessons can be learned from Latin America?
- What are the possible paths to regional integration? How can the implementation gap be bridged? 
- What role can external actors play as African countries pursue capital investments, reform, and collective governance?
- What types of initiatives can contribute to developing the skills for sustainable and inclusive economic development in Africa? How have Latin American and Caribbean countries invested in training their populations?

Speakers:

- Julie Bleeker, Consultant, Private Investors for Africa 
- John Kayode Shinkaiye, Former Principal Secretary of the Chairman of the African Union Commission, and Current Chairman of the JKS Associates Ltd 
- Aubrey Hruby, Co-Founder, Africa Expert Network 
- Adriana de Queiroz, Managing Partner, A2 Global Trade 

Chair: Karim El Aynaoui, Managing Director, OCP Policy Center 

Coffee Break

2^nd Session: Addressing Complex Security Challenges

The increasingly complex internal, transnational, and transregional security threats around the Atlantic Basin directly affect the dignity, livelihoods, and survival of its peoples. From climate change and gender-based violence to public health crises and trafficking in persons, there is no shortage of factors driving human insecurity. Concern about violent extremism and militant groups is growing around the world in light of numerous high-profile attacks, facilitated partly by modern communications technologies and porous borders. The speed with which these threats can grow, occupy new spaces, and metastasize is a challenge to security and law enforcement in many countries and internationally.

Debates over security and the use of force have evolved significantly in recent decades. Greater emphasis has been placed on the role of conflict mediation and diplomacy in attaining security and stability, with less resort to coercion. When hard power and lethal force are the only option, governments seek strategies that minimize harm to innocents and are viewed as legitimate by publics. As policymakers try to bolster human security, opportunities for cross-sector collaboration can be explored to build and sustain a peaceful, prosperous, and secure Atlantic space. 

- What tools are available to connect stakeholders to prevent violent conflict and promote human rights? How can the gap between security forces and civilian populations be bridged?
- How can resources be aligned to meet the immediate and localized needs of populations under stress?
- How can international collaboration be improved to combat transnational criminal and terrorist groups?
- What role can natural resource management and adaptation play in reducing climate vulnerability and the resultant displacement that can lead to conflict?
- How can we better monitor the warning signs of emerging conflicts and intervene before they grow beyond the capacity of local institutions to manage?

Speakers:

- Youssef Amrani, Chargé de Mission, Royal Cabinet 
- J. Peter Pham, Director, Africa Center, Atlantic Council of the United States 
- Nicoletta Pirozzi, Senior Fellow, Istituto Affari Internazionali 
- Bakary Sambe, Chairman, Timbuktu Institute

Chair: Terence McNamee, Deputy Director, The Brenthurst Foundation

Networking Lunch

3^rd Session: Good Governance and Human Development

In the current context of shifting population dynamics, migration, and labor shortages, investing in human capital is vital for governments to ensure growth and stability. Countries around the Atlantic space are facing significant technological shifts that are changing the shape of their societies, altering the way they do business, and creating new opportunities. In order to develop the human potential to drive the next wave of development, improve governance to unlock economic growth, and protect basic human rights, adapting to this new landscape and sharing best practices will be essential. 

Political shifts in Cuba, Venezuela, and Argentina have the potential to improve governance and macroeconomic management. Brazil struggles with a massive corruption scandal and economic downturn, but there is potential for significant benefit in the medium- to long-term if the norms around corruption fundamentally change as a result. 

Countries across the Atlantic are facing questions about the impunity of the elites, and many African countries are grappling with third-term limits for heads of state. Meanwhile, the United States and European Union are facing angry publics that have lost confidence in the ability of the political elite to deliver positive outcomes for them and solve problems. With the magnitude of change and a seeming inability to keep up with the expectations of their people, governments around the Atlantic space have their work cut out for them. Harnessing the full potential of technological revolution and shifting norms will require innovative and adaptive approaches to meeting the needs of increasingly connected publics.    

- What new educational tools and models are creating successful outcomes that could be replicated?
- How can governments channel the energy of their citizens into productive civic engagement that contributes to alleviating social ills?
- How can political elites break with past habits and become more transparent and responsive?
- How can countries of the Atlantic space mutually learn from each other’s achievements and failures on combatting corruption and improving governance?
- How can the freedom to think differently and creatively be linked to innovation in business and society?

Speakers:

- Koenraad Adam, Director Policy Planning, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Belgium 
- Michelle Gavin, Managing Director, The Africa Center 
- Abdallah Saaf, Senior Fellow, OCP Policy Center 
- Cecilia Soto González, Member of the Chamber of Deputies, Mexico 

Chair: Amsatou Sow Sidibé, Professor of Law and Political Science,
Dakar Cheikh Anta Diop University

Coffee Break

4^th Session: Investing in the Atlantic: Avenues for Trade, Investment, and Economic Integration 

Economic integration through trade is a crucial aspect of creating a cohesive Atlantic space. With trade deals like the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), there are concerns that these mega-regional agreements could have potentially negative effects on emerging economies – especially in the case of the South Atlantic. Countries not involved in mega-regional trade deals could face increased pressure to adopt new norms and standards. The different economic models in Mercosur countries and Pacific Alliance countries shows a Latin American divide on how great a role the market should play versus the state. The EU-Mercosur free trade negotiations could shift the transatlantic dynamic if successfully concluded. The recent renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the signature of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) between the European Union and a number of African regional economic communities, and the recently agreed Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) further complicate the picture. The role of the World Trade Organization (WTO), once the key player of multilateral trade governance, is also being challenged. The intricate web of trade and investment deals linking Atlantic countries to one another keeps being woven.

- When it comes to economic cooperation, what are the implications of overlapping trade and investment agreements?
- To what extent could public-private partnerships be a tool for sustainable and inclusive growth in Africa? How could they help leverage investment opportunities?
- What is the role of private equity in unleashing Africa’s potential? What experiences can be drawn from innovative investments in Africa? What lessons can be learned from Latin America?
- What is the role for institutions (financial markets, regulators, etc.) in facilitating the flow of capital throughout Africa? How can they contribute to diversifying and reducing risk?

Speakers:

- Rafael Benke, President, Brazilian Center for International Relations 
- Eliot Pence, Director, Africa, McLarty Associates 
- Clemens Schroeter, Head of the Economic Section, EU Delegation to Senegal 
- Vera Songwe, IFC Regional Director for West and Central Africa and Senior Fellow, OCP Policy Center 
    
Chair: Salimata Porquet, Member, Economic and Social Council Côte d’Ivoire, and Chairwoman, ECOWAS Peace and Security Women Network (REPSFECO) 

5^th Session: Over the Horizon: Atlantic Opportunities and Atlantic Challenges

The notion of the wider Atlantic has gained considerable momentum in intellectual and policy terms over the past few years, driven by geopolitical and geo-economic shifts. There is a growing debate about mental maps in the Atlantic space, and what is implied by transatlantic relations beyond the traditional north-north axis. Latin America, Atlantic Africa, and the Caribbean are an integral part of the Atlantic policy space, even if they have not received equal attention in the transatlantic discourse. That said, the wider Atlantic environment is evolving rapidly. Brazil, South Africa, and other key actors in the southern Atlantic all face considerable economic and security challenges, and their ability to drive south-south and north-south cooperation is potentially more constrained. Successive crises in the northern Atlantic and the resulting emphasis on domestic and regional challenges could also impede setting an ambitious wider Atlantic agenda. Beyond the role of states, trans-regional issues are at the heart of the wider Atlantic scene, including evolving migration and trafficking routes, security spill-overs, and energy and maritime challenges.  

- Looking ahead, what are the trends that will shape Atlantic futures? 
- Who will drive Atlantic cooperation?  
- What are the opportunities and the impediments?

Speakers:

- Abdelhak Bassou, Senior Fellow, OCP Policy Center
- Marie Roger Biloa, General Manager, Africa International
- Sylvia Hartleif, Head Foreign Policy Team/ EPSC, European Commission 
- Ian Lesser, Executive Director, Brussels Office and Senior Director for Foreign and Security Policy, German Marshall Fund of the United States 

Chair: Alfredo Valladão, Professor, Sciences Po; Senior Fellow, OCP Policy Center 

Conversation with the Honorable Mark Anthony Graham Brantley, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Aviation, Government of St. Kitts & Nevis, and President Pedro Pires, Co-chair of the board, Institut Panafricain de Stratégies 

Led by John Yearwood, World Editor, Miami Herald 

Closing reflections
    
Cheikh Tidiane Gadio, President, Institut Panafricain de Stratégies