Dignitaries at the opening plenary
African leaders have been urged to collaborate more as they seek to increase trade among their countries.
Speaking at the opening of the 30th Annual General Meetings of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in Accra, speakers highlighted the need for a more collaborative effort to boost intra-African trade in the face of the adverse economic challenges.
Minister of Finance of Egypt and Chairman of the Afreximbank Annual Meetings, Mohamed Ahmed Maait, represented by Gamal Negm, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, was of the view that Africans must work collaboratively towards finding integrated solutions to the new challenges confronting the continent.
He lauded Afreximbank for playing a significant role in developing and implementing solutions like the just launched insurance subsidiary to address the challenges confronting Africa and expressed the hope that AAM2023 would lead to even more constructive solutions to Africa’s problems.
Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, on his part said that with the inclusion of a vision for an integrated African market in the founding treaty of the OAU, the founding fathers of the AU had foreseen the need for Afreximbank.
Mr. Mene noted that if trade barriers were eliminated but there was no trade finance, all the efforts would come to nothing. At the same time, if trade finance was available but trade barriers persisted and prevented trade, then all the efforts would still have been wasted.
He therefore commended the support and collaboration which Afreximbank had provided for the implementation of the AfCFTA, including the introduction of the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund and the establishment of the Pan-African Payment and settlement System (PAPPS) adding that the support was critical as Africa sought to rely on itself to create a better future.
Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison said Ghana represented the most appropriate venue for the celebration of Afreximbank’s 30th anniversary, given the Bank’s role in developing and promoting African trade and the fact that Ghana was the home of the AfCFTA Secretariat.
Dr. Addison said that Afreximbank had been very supportive of Ghana and had, over the years, provided more than $ 2bn to support the Ghanaian economy.
He commended Afreximbank for the approach it adopted in its work which emphasised a collaborative approach in dealing with other continental institutions.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri