Sec. 2. Findings
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Congress finds the following: For more than a decade, six of the world’s 10 fastest growing economies are located in sub-Saharan Africa. Many African nations are landlocked and their economies are isolated and will require greater support to benefit from regional integration of markets, infrastructure, and trade promotion type policies. By connecting isolated African economies, there exists the potential to increase investment opportunities and support market-based growth. While the African continent has experienced positive economic growth trends, successfully addressing the continent's infrastructure gaps could increase gross domestic product growth by an estimated two percent.
In recent years, the World Bank has doubled its investment in African regional integration from $1.8 billion to $3.6 billion for projects to address infrastructure deficiencies, unemployment, and poverty reduction. African nations, including regional economic bodies, have increasingly realized that a key driver to economic growth must involve greater cross-border collaboration and regional economic integration to address deficiencies in areas such as communications, transport, and energy networks.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation’s compacts have increased access to reliable power, enhanced highway corridors, and upgraded regional trading hubs, thereby promoting economic growth and cross-border engagement between and among African nations.