Prime Minister Mia Mottley stated on Tuesday that the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) will establish its regional headquarters for the Caribbean and the Americas in Barbados next month.
Mottley was on a trip with Frans Timmermans, the European Commission’s Executive Vice President for the European Green Deal.
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She said, “It is a significant signal of confidence that they have chosen us to be that location from which to do the work.”
The African Export-Import Bank, often known as Afreximbank or Banque Africaine d’Import-Export, is a pan-African supranational multilateral financial institution founded in 1993 by the African Development Bank.
Mottley will join Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and other leading African and Caribbean figures at the 30th Annual Meetings of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) taking place in Accra from 18 to 21 June 2023.
According to a provisional program, both will be among a set of high-profile leaders, comprising heads of state and government, former heads of state, other political leaders, business leaders, African trade practitioners, trade finance experts, members of the academia and senior public figures, scheduled to address participants at the Afreximbank Annual Meetings (AAM2023).
Other confirmed speakers include Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria; Dr. Donald Kaberuka, Chairman of the Board of Directors, SouthBridge Group and Former President of the African Development Bank (AfDB); Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat; Ambassador Albert Muchanga, Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Industry and Minerals, African Union Commission; Antonio Pedro, Acting Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa; Strive Masiyiwa, Founder and Executive Chairman, Econet Global and Cassava Technologies; Arnold Ekpe, Former Group CEO, Ecobank, and Chairman, the Business Council of Africa and Baobab; Dr. Vera Songwe, Board Chair, Liquidity and Sustainability Facility; and David Coffey, CEO, African Association of Automotive Manufacturers.
Also confirmed to speak are Ahmed El Sewedy, President and CEO, Elsewedy Electric of Egypt; Oussama Kaissi, Chief Executive Officer, Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit; Florie Liser, President and CEO, Corporate Council on Africa; Kayode Pitan, CEO, Bank of Industry of Nigeria; Hani S. Sonbol, CEO, International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation; Simon Tiemtore, Chairman and CEO, Lilium Capital, and Group Chairman, Vista Bank Group; Samaila Zubairu, President, Africa Finance Corporation; Rosa Whitaker, President and CEO, The Whitaker Group; Adam Molai, Chairman, TRT Investment; and Dr. Mima Nedelcovych, Chairman, AfricaGlobal Schaffer.
The four-day AAM2023, being held under the over overarching theme, Delivering the vision: Building prosperity for Africans, will feature keynote addresses, panel discussions, plenaries and fireside-type conversations focusing on African trade, trade finance and development issues, including the implementation of the AfCFTA.
Some of the topics listed for discussion include: Turbo-Charging Implementation of the AfCFTA; Building Prosperity for Africans: The Challenges of Peace and Security; What would it take for Africa to feed itself—Overcoming the challenges of food security for sustainable development in Africa; Building Prosperity: African Culture and Literature as a Foundation for African Renaissance; Delivering the Vision—Corporate Perspectives; and The Future of Integration in Africa.
