The Rwandan government has signed an agreement with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Union to host the second Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2020) scheduled to take place in September next year.
President of Afreximbank Prof. Benedict Oramah announced that the fair, which will take place from 1st September to 7th, is expected to generate trade deals worth more than $40 billion.
The organizers target to attract more than 1,000 exhibitors and host over 10,000 buyers and conference participants from over 50 countries.
Oramah who noted that “52 countries have signed the AfCFTA and 22 have ratified it, paving the way for the agreement to enter into force”, said that IAATF2020 would include an IATF Trade and Investment Forum which will look at the practical challenges affecting AfCFTA implementation and provide solutions on how to address them and exploit the benefits offered by the Agreement.
Amb. Albert Muchanga, Commissioner for Trade and Industry of the African Union, announced that the African Union was establishing an African Trade Observatory, which will gather trade-related information from African countries and be a resource for anybody who wanted to trade with the continent as a source of general trade statistics.
It is hoped that this second trade fair will build on the tremendous progress made in the first Intra-African Trade Fair held in Cairo in 2018 to achieve more far-reaching results in terms of impact in promoting Intra-African trade.
