Akinwumi Adesina
The
President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi
Adesina, has said that with the rapidly changing world of trade and
rising echoes of unilateralism, Africa must trade smartly, starting
by ensuring rapid growth in Intra-African trade.
Speaking
in Abuja during a gala dinner organised to mark the 2018 Annual
Meetings and 25th Anniversary of the African
Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Dr. Adesina pointed to the
important role of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in
that regard, saying that, when fully implemented, the AfCFTA would
raise the share of Intra-African trade in Africa’s total trade from
16 per cent to 52 per cent.
It
would also increase the value of Africa’s traded goods and services
by $35 billion per year, he added.
Dr.
Adesina commented Afreximbank for its achievements, saying that the
AfDB was very proud that the institution it helped create 25 years
ago had fully come of age. “Today, Afreximbank is the leader on
financing trade in Africa,” he said.
Highlighting
the importance of trade finance, especially for small and
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Dr. Adesina noted that the AfDB had
provided trade finance lines of credit of $650 million and trade
finance mitigation support of $250 million to support Afreximbank’s
trade finance activities.
He
called for strong partnership between AfDB and Afreximbank in the
development of export processing zones, especially staple crop
processing zones, so as to help transform rural economies based on
agricultural industrialisation and value addition.
Earlier,
Dr. Mahmud Isa-Dutse, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance
of Nigeria, which hosted the gala dinner, congratulated Afreximbank
on the celebration of its 25th Anniversary.
He
pledged Nigeria’s continuing support for the Bank as it continued
to deliver on its mandate of promoting African trade.
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