Afreximbank stresses role of private sector in continental free trade area implementation
The Pan-African Private Sector Trade and Investment Committee (PAFTRAC) will enhance African private sector participation in trade and investment policy formulation and support the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Dr. Benedict Oramah, President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), has said.
Speaking during an AfCFTA business breakfast on PAFTRAC, organized as part of the AfCFTA Business Forum to mark the signing of the agreement for the free trade area, Dr. Oramah said that PAFTRAC was an advocacy platform that would provide a framework to facilitate African private sector participation and engagement in trade and investment issues.
He noted that following the launch of the committee, under the auspices of the World Trade Organization and the African Development Bank (ADB) about a decade ago, Afreximbank had been requested to take the lead on the project.
Dr. Oramah welcomed the partners that had joined PAFTRAC and said that the relaunch of the Committee was aimed at supporting the implementation of the AfCFTA.
Earlier, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria and Patron of AfroChampions Initiative, which organized the breakfast, stressed the importance of intra-African trade in Africa’s economic development, highlighting the important contribution which the private sector could make in that process.
The breakfast featured a panel discussion by Kris Senanu, Managing Director, Enterprise Telkom, Kenya; Jean-Louis Billon, Chairman, SIFCA Group, Cote d’Ivoire; and Samba Bathily, CEO, ADS Group, Mali. Li Yong, Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, made concluding remarks.
In addition to Afreximbank, PAFTRAC also has the International Trade Centre, the African Union Commission, ADB; the AfroChampions Initiative, the Pan-African Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Ecobank as partners.
