Afdb-At IATF, multilateral financiers discuss trade initiatives after Covid-19.
ENPNewswire-November 18, 2021--Afdb-At IATF, multilateral financiers discuss trade initiatives after COVID-19
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Release date- 17112021 - Multilateral financial institutions on Tuesday discussed their role in promoting trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), an ambitious plan to create the world's largest free trade zone since the founding of the World Trade Organization.
The conversation took place during a panel discussion at the Intra-African Trade Fair, launched in 2018 to give the AfCFTA, which came into effect this year, impetus.
Solomon Quaynor, Vice President at the African Development Bank, said between 2020 and 2021 the Bank planned to invest about $2 billion in projects related to the free trade zone, and to mobilize a further $2 billion from partners. The projects include regional infrastructure and industrialization.
Quaynor, VP for the Private Sector, Infrastructure & Industrialization, said the African Development Bank was ready to scale up funding after prioritizing the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and maintaining its triple-A credit rating.
'One of the impacts (of the pandemic) is that we had less resources to support the capital-raising efforts of the African multilateral financial institutions that we are already equity investors in. However, this is the time to turn that around,' Quaynor told the audience in Durban, the South African port city hosting this year's Intra-African Trade Fair.
Serge Ekue, President of the West African Development Bank, said the pandemic had once again proven that 'cash is king'-as evidenced by the trillions of dollars made available by the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank through their asset repurchasing programs. For its part, the West African Development Bank made EUR500 million available to governments and the private sector to fend off the impact of the pandemic.
'Tier-one capital is critical. We need to strengthen that...From our experience, we know where the market is...The question is: How do we strengthen our tier-one capital to fully play our role?' Ekue said.
Sanjeev Gupta, Executive Director of the Africa Finance Corporation, said the pandemic had proven that the continent was capable of generating home-grown solutions. The AFC acted swiftly to 'understand where the stresses are in our...
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