Afreximbank
President Prof. Benedict Oramah (right) presents gift to Prof.
Mthuli Ncube, Minister of Finance and Economic Development of
Zimbabwe, after the meeting in Bali, Indonesia.
A
delegation of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) led by the
President, Prof. Benedict Oramah, on Wednesday in Bali, Indonesia,
held talks with a Zimbabwean Government team led by the Minister of
Finance and Economic Development, Prof. Mthuli Ncube, and the
Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Dr. John Mangudya, to
discuss Afreximbank’s support to Zimbabwe’s economic recovery.
The
meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the 2018 International
Monetary Fund and World Bank Group Annual Meetings, highlighted the
Bank’s various facilities currently operational in Zimbabwe.
They
discussed the modality of the $500-million Nostro stabilization
facility which Zimbabwe had requested from the Bank and agreed on the
processes toward concluding that transaction by the end of October
2018.
The
ultimate goal of the facility is to secure payments for essential
imports and to promote exports, diaspora remittances and deposit of
foreign currency. It is envisaged that this will restore foreign
currency liquidity and stability in the market.
President
Oramah took advantage of the meeting to brief the minister about the
Intra-African Trade Fair being organised by the Bank in December and
the Babacar Ndiaye Lecture which Afreximbank it would host in Bali on
13 October.
Also
on Wednesday, President Oramah received Dr. Yani Younoussa,
Governor of the Central Bank of Comoros, telling him that
Afreximbank was committed to supporting the economy of Comoros
and saying that the Bank was ready to look at financing sectors of
the economy that could support the country’s blue economy,
including ports and fish processing.
He
said that the Bank was keen to look at ways of providing facilities
to the government to enable it to execute its development projects.
Dr.
Younoussa told the President that Comoros was making progress on its
ratification of the Bank’s Establishment Agreement.
The
Afreximbank delegation also met with a delegation from Cote d’Ivoire
led by Adama Kone, the Minister of Economy and Finance. The
President briefed the Minister on the work of Afreximbank in Cote
d’Ivoire, including the development of industrials parks and
provision of lines of credit to Ivorian banks, in addition to other
forms of support to the economy.
He
commended the Ivorian Government for its support in the preparations
for the Intra-African Trade Fair, saying that 18 countries had
already taken up country pavilions at the fair.
The
Minister was joined by Jeanne Guehe, the Ivorian Ambassador to
Australia, and several other Ivorian officials.
The
meetings were part of a series of meetings with political, economic
and business leaders lined up for the Afreximbank delegation during
the 2018 International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group Annual
Meetings which was taking place in Bali from 8 to 14 October.
Afreximbank
President Prof. Benedict Oramah (5th right) and Prof. Mthuli Ncube,
Minister of Finance and Economic Development of Zimbabwe, (6th
right), in group photo with some of the meeting participants,
including Afreximbank Executive Vice Presidents Dr. George Elombi
(1st right); Denys Denya (7th right)
and Amr Kamel (2ndleft); as well as Dr. John Mangudya, Governor,
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (3rd left).
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