Afreximbank, Development Bank of Central African States in pact to promote trade and regional integration
The African Export-Import Bank, Afreximbank, and the Development Bank of Central African States, BDEAC, have entered into a memorandum of understanding to harmonize their efforts in the promotion of trade and regional integration.
Dr. Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, speaking during the signing of the MOU at the Bank’s Cairo headquarters, said that the two institutions would collaborate in the identification, preparation and financing of projects and trade transactions in African states that are members of both entities.
Through co-financing, knowledge-sharing and capacity-building work, Afreximbank and BDEAC will join efforts to intensify industrialization, expand exports and promote intra-regional trade across countries of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC), he said.
In his remarks, Fortunato-Ofa Mbo Nchama, President of BDEAC, said that his institution’s decision to partner with Afreximbank was based on the strong alignment that existed between the strategic objectives of the two entities.
He said that the collaboration would contribute to BDEAC’s work in supporting the structural transformation and diversification of central African economies through the construction of logistics infrastructure and industrial capacities and through the development of agro-processing and other key economic sectors, noting that those economies were still heavily dependent on commodity exports,
BDEAC is a public regional bank established in 1975 to promote the development and economic integration of CEMAC countries. The members are Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Chad, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
