African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) (www.Afreximbank.com) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA) to formalise collaboration between the two institutions and provide a platform for exploring joint activities to support trade and investment flows between Africa and the Caribbean, and other collaborations.
According to the terms of the MoU, signed on June 14, 2024, at the 31st Afreximbank Annual Meetings (AAM2024) and the 3rd AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF), held in Nassau, The Bahamas, Afreximbank and CEDA will collaborate in capacity building and technical collaboration, knowledge sharing and information exchange, and trade and investment promotion and facilitation. The MoU is expected to result in increased trade and investment between Africa and the Caribbean, thereby encouraging mutual economic growth and development.
Signing the MoU on behalf of Afreximbank was Oluranti Doherty, Director, Export Development who represented Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade & Export Development Bank, while Leo Naut, Deputy Executive Director and Officer-in-Charge of CEDA, signed for his organisation.
Commenting on the MoU, Mrs. Awani said that the signing was part of Afreximbank’s efforts to see the concretisation of the African Union’s vision in designating the African Diaspora as the sixth region of the continent.
She highlighted Afreximbank's significant progress in the Caribbean, including the inclusion of CARICOM member states in the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) program. She noted that 11 Caribbean Community member countries have joined the Bank as participating states, with the rest expected to join soon. Noteworthy achievements also encompass the hosting of three annual AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forums, the opening of an Afreximbank Regional Office in Barbados and the disbursement of financing facilities to St. Lucia for climate adaptation projects, and Barbados for the development of sports infrastructure
Mrs. Awani attributed the success of those activities, in part, to the support received from key institutions in the Caribbean region and expressed confidence that the strategic partnership with CEDA would lead to a substantial increase in trade and other levels of economic cooperation between Africa and the Caribbean.
AAM2024, which was combined with the third AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF2024), took place in The Bahamas from 12 - 15 June 2024.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Afreximbank.
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About Afreximbank:
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade. For 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa's trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank is setting up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries effectively participating in the AfCFTA. At the end of December 2023, Afreximbank's total assets and guarantees stood at over US$37.3 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$6.1 billion. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody's (Baa1), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB). Afreximbank has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its impact fund subsidiary called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure (together, "the Group"). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.
For more information, visit: www.Afreximbank.com
