Songwe Leads ECA in Showcasing Its Work At Inaugural Intra-African Trade Fair in Cairo, Egypt

10 December 2018
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United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (Addis Ababa)

Cairo — All is set for the Intra-African Trade (IATF) that begins in Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday with Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Executive Secretary, Vera Songwe, set to attend three events at this inaugural African continental business development event.

Ms. Songwe is set to attend a roundtable on Aligning the interests of Governments and Industry on Trade and Investment in Africa and a gala dinner of the first IATF under the theme; Intra-African Trade as an Engine for Developing Africa: AfCFTA Ratification and signing: Game Changer for African Economies.

She's also set to address the 7th African Ministers of Trade Meeting (AMOT) that will take place at the same time.

Egypt this weekend hosted a high-level business forum in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh as the country takes over as the Chair of the African Union.

Both the high-level business forum and the Intra-African Trade are set to showcase Egypt. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in his speech to delegates at the forum, encouraged investors from inside and outside Africa to take advantage of opportunities on the continent as countries as the continent pursues economic reform.

Ms. Songwe will lead a delegation from the ECA which will participate in the Intra-African Trade Fair, which runs in Cairo from 11-18 December 2018. David Luke, Coordinator of the African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) of the ECA and his team will also attend and showcase their work for Africa's development at the IATF.

The IATF is designed as a platform for entry into the huge market that will be created by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Over 50,000 prominent dealmakers, businesses, industries, investors, countries and suppliers are expected to attend the IATF. Up to $25-billion-dollar business deals, contracts and investment transactions are expected to be sealed during the trade fair.

The IATF also seeks to broaden investment opportunities on the continent, especially in agriculture and agribusiness, agro-processing, commodities, power and energy, infrastructure development, trade finance, manufacturing, healthcare, ICT and youth development as well as gender-focused investments.

The ECA and the African Union Commission will share a pavilion that will showcase their efforts in trying to drive development on the continent.

The business showcase will host over 1000 exhibitors during a 7-day trade show that provides a platform for sharing investment information and enabling investors, agencies and countries to meet, discuss and conclude business deals in Business-to-Business (B2B) exchanges.

Media contact: Sandra Nyaira on nyaira@un.org and +251 929117895

Read the original article on UNECA.

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