By DAVID IORJA, Abuja –
President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday left Paris for Durban, South Africa, at the special invitation of President Cyril Ramaphosa, to the inauguration of the second Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) 2021.
The President’s spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina, confirmed this development in a statement on Saturday, in Abuja.
The event, billed for Nov. 15 to Nov. 21, was convened by the African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIM), in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat.
The theme of the Fair, ”Building Bridges for a Successful AfCFTA” aims at boosting trade and investments across the African continent, Adesina said, while stressing that the event would also seek to create the enabling environment for businesses to thrive across the continent.
He said this would bring to fruition the lofty ideas behind the creation of the AfCFTA, by providing a platform to further identify and proffer solutions to challenges militating against intra-African trade.
”The event is also expected to generate market information, needed to connect buyers and sellers throughout the continent.
”Global businesses, including non-African international brands, are expected to key into opportunities generated by the fair, thereby attracting to continental trade investment deals worth $40billion dollars,” he added.
He revealed that many Nigerian investors had since arrived Durban to take advantage of the event, which the President would attend with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, and the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo,
Others are, the Director General, National Intelligence Agency, Amb. Ahmed Rufai and the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Segun Awolowo.
President Buhari is expected back in Nigeria on Nov. 16, Adesina said.
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