Afreximbank to organize conference to showcase Intra-African Trade Fair

CAIRO – 28 May 2018: The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) will organize a conference on Thursday May 31, 2018, at the International Manara Conferences Center to showcase the developments of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2018) and discuss the challenges of Egyptian-African trade.

The meeting will include a press conference and a panel discussion entitled "Towards a Strategy to Deepen Trade Exchange between Egypt and Africa", including speakers such as Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Intra-African Trade Fair Olusegun Obasanjo, Chairman of the African Bank for Export and Import Benedict Oramah, and Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Tarek Kabil, as well as private sector speakers.

The conference will review the most important developments of the Intra-African Trade Fair to be hosted by Egypt from December 11-17, 2018, in cooperation with the African Union and the Export Development Authority represented by the Egyptian Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Oramah said that the conference works on filling the gap in trade information, linking the main trade contributors in the continent with each other and identifying market investment opportunities.

He clarified that this conference is considered to be the biggest trade conference the continent has witnessed in decades.

A large number of African officials, trade companies’ representatives and businessmen from Egypt and other African countries will participate in the conference.

In March, Chairman of the Egyptian Junior Business Association (EJB) Khaled el-Mekaty said that Egypt’s exports to African countries do not exceed $4 billion annually.

Mekaty further remarked that 14 trade missions to African and Arab countries are scheduled to be organized in six different economic sectors to expand Egyptian existence in other economic markets.

Currently, there are Egyptian companies that invest in Zambia, Angola and other African countries, he added.

Egypt is involved in the African Continental Free Trade Area, which is signed by 43 countries; thus considered the biggest deal ever signed since the World Trade Organization was established.

The agreement aims to ease the trade exchange between countries that have signed it, according to a scheduled timeline and not through an immediate activation of the agreement.