EMPHASISES TRADE, TAX AND TRANSPARENCY

President Alpha Condé and HE Senior Minister of Finance and Economy Dr Kerfalla Yansane of Guinea at the conclusion of the conference. Image credit Christopher Bissell.

• Invest in Guinea Conference took place on 13 June, Westbury Hotel
• Conference concluded with surprise visit by Guinean President Alpha Condé
• Supported by New Leaf Africa and AFCOM
• Focus on promoting transparent, long-term investment opportunities in Guinea

Held under the auspices of New Leaf Africa and AFCOM, the Invest in Guinea Conference welcomed an intimate crowd of 100 journalists, investors,governmental representatives, think tanks, NGOs and mining representatives on 13 June at the Westbury Hotel, London.

The aim of the conference was to promote viable, transparent, long-term investment opportunities in the West African nation through a series of presentations on topics including Environmental Sustainability, Local Sustainability, Developments within Mining and Infrastructure,Country Certification and Financing and Investment Guarantees. Speakers included Guinea HE Senior Minister of Finance and Economy, Dr Kerfalla Yansané; HE Mohamed Lamine Fofana, Minister of Mines, Guinea; Dr Jacqueline Sultan, Hon. Director General of Agriculture, Guinea and Alan Davies, Chief Executive, Diamonds & Minerals, Rio Tinto, Australia. Other speakers also included Al Babbington, CEO of New Leaf Africa, Aaron Jay Fossett, CEO of AFCOM, as well as Ben Caldwell of Eco Partners and Paul Christie, CEO of Visible Earth, among others. For a full list of speakers, please see overleaf.

The conference was wrapped up with a reception, which featured a surprise visit and speech by the President of Guinea, Alpha Condé, who is in the UK for the G8 Summit (17-18 June). President Condé called for greater transparency in supporting trade, particularly timely given both the conference’s and G8’s focus on open governments to support free trade and encourage greater transparency and accountability.

Speaking of the conference, Fossett remarked: “The opportunity for social and economic transformation through responsible investments in Africa is now. The Republic of Guinea is among the most resource-rich countries on the globe and has advanced a transparent government and strong financial management as noted by the recent IMF report. The Invest in Guinea initiative and conference is an ideal platform, providing direct engagement with senior Guinean officials on the immediate pipeline of opportunities available in energy, mining and other sectors.”