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Levi Mukarati in ACCRA, Ghana
African and Caribbean leaders converge here this weekend for the 30th African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) meetings, with a series of deliberations focusing on initiatives to further propel trade and socio-economic development among nations.
The gatherings bring parties together to celebrate three decades since the bank launched a bold initiative in pursuit of deeper cooperation and solutions to challenges facing Africa and the Caribbean.
They come at a time Afreximbank has launched a Pan African Payment and Settlement System, after its adoption by the African Union as an alternative transacting mode to the United States dollar, to underpin implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
In a statement on the provisional programme for the four day meetings that begin in Accra, Ghana, tomorrow, Afreximbank said Ghanaian President Nana Akufo Ado is expected to lead Heads of State and Governments, including President Mnangagwa, in a series of extensive seminars.
Zimbabwe’s participation is amid Afreximbank constructing a multi-million United States dollar landmark centre in Harare for facilitating intra-African trade.
The centre will house the bank’s permanent regional office, a world class hotel, trade data centre and a technology incubation centre, catapulting Zimbabwe’s infrastructure development drive and positioning the country on a global map.
In march this year, President Mnangagwa reaffirmed Zimbabwe’s support to the bank through signing an establishment agreement for the Fund for Export Development in Africa, a subsidiary of the Afreximbank focusing on the continent’s growth.
The signature made Zimbabwe the sixth nation on the continent to back the new multilateral development platform.
According to Afrexmbank, the 30th annual meetings will draw: “High profile leaders comprising Heads of State and Governments, former Heads of State, renowned business leaders (and) African trade experts… who are scheduled to address participants.
“Some of the topics listed for discussion include turbo charging the implementation of the AfCFTA, challenges of peace and security, overcoming the challenges of food security for sustainable development in Africa, as well as benefits of strong continental financial institutions.”
The bank added that the meetings will touch on issues of strengthening interconnectivity between Africa and its Diaspora, realisation of a pan-Africanism vision, deployment of AfriCaribbean resources for sustainable development as well as push industrialisation from grassroot levels.
The meetings, which are ranked amongst most important gatherings of economic decision makers in Africa, come as Africans are pushing for home grown solutions to problems faced by the continent.
Afreximbank is a multilateral financial institution mandated to finance intra-and-extra African trade in a bid to accelerate the continents industrialisation drive.
The bank has disbursed nearly US$90 billion between 2016 and 2022 to support trade and development in Africa. The 30th annual meetings are being held under the theme: “Delivering the vision. Building prosperity for Africans”.
Online Reporter