Le Président d'Afreximbank, le Professeur Benedict Oramah (à gauche), et Mia Amor Mottley, Premier ministre de la Barbade (à droite), échangent des documents à la suite de la signature du protocole d'accord.
Bridgetown, 9 October 2021: – African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Government of Barbados have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand trade and investment links between Africa and the Caribbean island state.
Under the MoU, the two parties will explore opportunities for joint investment and trade finance aimed at expanding economic ties between Africa and Barbados.
The agreement will also facilitate knowledge sharing between Afeximbank and the Government of Barbados, providing businesses and investors on either side of the Atlantic with higher quality information with which to pursue trade and investment opportunities.
This knowledge sharing will include collaborative use of electronic platforms for customer due diligence, payments, trade exchanges, trade information, and regulatory details. Afreximbank will also consider putting in place a financial facility in an amount of US$250 million to support trade and investment exchange.
The agreement is set to increase the flow of goods and services while enhancing connectivity between African nations and Barbados. The two parties will actively promote coordinated development and trade finance from both public and private sectors.
Meawhile, they will work in concert to advance air, sea, and telecommunication links, as well as cultural exchange between Africa and Barbados.
Professor Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, said:
“Cooperation among nations of the global south can become an engine of growth and prosperity. The economies of African nations and Barbados share a common heritage, entrepreneurial drive and opportunities. By coming together Afreximbank and the Government of Barbados will harness the power of trade to create new jobs, scale up new industries, and reap the benefits of a rich exchange in goods, services, and culture between Africa and Barbados.”
The Honourable Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, said:
“We are committed to being able to ensure the trade of goods, the movement of people and services, and the flow of information. We believe that once trade information flows, once people, goods and services flow seamlessly, then we can reconnect and make the embodiment of CARICOM as the sixth region of the African Union real for all of us.”
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About Afreximbank
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade. Afreximbank deploys innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. The Bank has a rich history of intervening in support of African countries in times of crisis. Through the Pandemic Trade Impact Mitigation Facility (PATIMFA) launched in April 2020, Afreximbank has disbursed more than US$6.5 billion in 2020 to help member countries manage the adverse impact of financial, economic, and health shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has completed the development of a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Afreximbank is working with the AU and the AfCFTA Secretariat to develop an Adjustment Facility to support countries in effectively participating in the AfCFTA. At the end of 2020, the Bank’s total assets and guarantees stood at US$21.5 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$3.4 billion. Afreximbank disbursed more than US$42 billion between 2016 and 2020. The Bank has ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A-), Moody’s (Baa1) and Fitch (BBB-). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.
For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com.
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Amadou Labba Sall
asall@afreximbank.com