What is the Dutch government doing to develop the private sector in Africa?
My strategy has five elements. First, a better business climate. Our embassies in our thirty-six partner countries, sixteen of which are in Africa, have drawn up a plan to help governments create a better business climate. In Ghana, we are helping the government to computerise land registration. In Tanzania we are helping to make the financial sector stronger. Second, private sector programmes like PSOM, the Emerging Markets Cooperation Programme, and ORET, the Development-related Export Transactions Programme. These encourage Dutch business to invest in developing countries. Thirty-eight ORET projects are now under way in Africa, in sectors like infrastructure water and sanatation, totalling three hundred and sixteen million euros of support. This year I opened up the PSOM to Sudan, making it the sixteenth country in Africa eligible for this programme. Last year, we organised a seminar for Dutch investors on opportunities in Sudan. The response was amazing. Now that Sudan is back on t
