Afreximbank urges Africa to abolish its 110 borders
Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire (PANA) - The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Professor Benedict Oramah, has called on Africa to abolish the 110 borders that hinder its trade development,.
He made the call at the signing of the Hosting Agreement for the Third Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) by Côte d'Ivoire in Abidjan on Friday.
"This fair, and the first edition in Cairo, Egypt, have revealed the immensity and diversity of the African economy and the enormity of the continent's trade potential. The fairs have also shown us why knowledge is power; why universal access to business information is the hammer we need to break down the 110 borders that divide us," Prof. Oramah said.
"These fairs have shown us that we can, if we dare," he said, stressing that the IATF has become a platform to actualize the African continent's vision for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). It opens up new trade, rapidly expanding the continent's trade knowledge, exposing our cultural heritage to our markets and accessing new markets," he said.
Taking stock of the impact of the previous fairs, Mr. Oramah said the US$75 billion worth of deals struck at the two IATFs was evidence of the abundance of intra-African trade and investment.
They represent, according to him, remarkable trade and investment deals that would not have happened without this Fair. He was pleased that the government of Malawi had expanded the market for its agricultural products and many other government-to-government trade agreements signed at the first two editions of the fair, including the dam project agreement between the Tanzanian government and Egyptian contractors, which is the largest intra-African contract ever.
"When the curtains came down on the Durban fair, new business relationships were forged, governments found new African sources of food and capital goods; African banks found new opportunities for regional expansion, fashion designers found new markets, while African design and industry found a new platform to come together," the Afreximbank boss said.
"The train has now left the South, bound for the West. When it arrives in Abidjan in November 2023, it will stop over in familiar territory, in a country that values continental integration and has been at the forefront of promoting collective self-reliance since the early 1960s," he stressed.
The third Intra-African Trade Fair will be held from 21 -27 November 2023 in Abidjan.
As a prelude to this fair, the host country signed on Friday an agreement to host the fair.
The IATF is an initiative put in place as part of the operationalization of the African Continental Free Trade Area by the African Union, in partnership with the African Export-Import Bank, for the promotion of intra-African trade.
-0- PANA IT/JSG/SOC/BBA/RA 26March2022
