Nouakchott, 19 February 2018: – The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) will attract $1.5 billion to Mauritania to finance development of trade and related infrastructure under the terms of a memorandum of understanding signed with the country on Monday, Bank President Benedict Oramah has announced.
Speaking in Nouakchott on Monday following meetings with President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz of Mauritania and several of his ministers, Dr. Oramah said that the MoU was aimed at strengthening economic cooperation between the Bank and Mauritania, one of Afreximbank’s member states.
Dr. Oramah, who led a delegation of business leaders and Afreximbank officials for discussions on trade and investment opportunities in Mauritania, said that the Bank saw opportunities to “support Mauritania’s Strategic Plan for Accelerated Growth and Shared Prosperity through the financing of key projects it had identified in the agri-processing, fisheries, hotel construction and related logistics and infrastructure sectors”.
He said that $500 million of the amount to be attracted by Afreximbank would go to the development of the private sector, a key priority of the government, in the form of credit lines through local banks. The other $1 billion would be raised by Afreximbank after evaluating eligible projects that support the construction of trade-facilitating infrastructure, industrial parks and special economic zones and fish processing.
In his remarks, President Ould Abdel Aziz commended Afreximbank for its efforts to contribute to Mauritania’s economic development and gave assurance of the country’s commitment to the implementation of the MoU.
The delegation also held meetings with Moctar Ould Ajay, the Minister of Economy and Finance; Dr Mohamed Ould Abdel Vettah, the Minister of Petroleum, Mines and Energy; Nani Ould Chrougha, the Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Economy; and Abdel Aziz Ould Dahi, the Governor of the Mauritanian Central Bank. Meetings were also held with the CEOs of the National Mining Company and the Free Zone of Nouadibou, as well as with several local businesses leaders.
The meetings were aimed at enabling the accompanying business leaders to explore trade and investment opportunities in Mauritania, allowing them to discuss opportunities to set up joint ventures, bid for the construction of infrastructure and invest in concessions. The business leaders were drawn from the energy, oil and gas, financial services, agriculture, telecom, real estate and manufacturing sectors in Egypt, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Tunisia.
Since 1993, Afreximbank has provided extensive financing support to the Mauritanian economy, mainly through the banking sector to support local import and export transactions and the development of leasing activities.
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Media Contact: Fleur Tchibota (ftchibota@afreximbank.com; Tel. +202-2456-4260)
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About Afreximbank:
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is the foremost pan-African multilateral financial institution devoted to financing and promoting intra- and extra-African trade. The Bank was established in October 1993 by African governments, African private and institutional investors, and non-African investors. Its two basic constitutive documents are the Establishment Agreement, which gives it the status of an international organization, and the Charter, which governs its corporate structure and operations. Since 1994, it has approved more than $51 billion in credit facilities for African businesses, including about $10.3 billion in 2016. Afreximbank had total assets of $11.7 billion as at 31 December 2016 and is rated BBB+ (GCR), Baa1 (Moody’s), and BBB- (Fitch). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo. For more information, visit: www.afreximbank.com