Mr Jean-Louis Ekra, the President of Afreximbank, has advised African countries to diversify their economies and trade.
Ekra, who was speaking at the inauguration of the 12-storey head office of the bank in Cairo, also urged African countries to take a cue from Egypt by introducing new initiatives to develop their economies.
He said the initiatives to diversify African trade and economies would further translate to bigger roles for the bank.
The Afreximbank boss said the bank recently launched a 500 million dollar fund to develop the Egypt-Africa Trade Promotion Prgramme (EATPP) to facilitate the country’s efforts to tap into the rest of the continent.
“The essence of EATPP is to leverage economic strength of Egypt in order to enhance the process of economic development and structural transformation,” he said.
Ekra said fostering trade and economic cooperation between Egypt and other African countries would accelerate the pace of integration within the continent.
“The bank also sees its contributions to trade and economic development in Egypt growing in the coming years especially within the context of the recently launched Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) which will help to accelerate intra-African trade.”
The bank executive particularly commended the country’s leadership and the important roles which Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sisi was playing in transforming the economy.
He also lauded the Egyptian Government’s support to the bank since its inception.
Ekra described the head office complex as masterpiece showcasing African culture, engineering and construction prowess.
He noted:“The inauguration of the headquarters building is an important milestone in the history of the bank.
“This occasion firmly confirms the fact that the bank is deepening its roots in Egypt. The bank is here to stay.”
Ekra said the construction of the building at a cost of 14 million dollars was started in 2004 and was completed in 2007 as scheduled, but the bank could not move in until 2010.
Dr Denny Kalyalya, the Governor of Bank of Zambia, also commended the host country for its generosity and gestures to the bank since its inception.
He said that the bank had received several awards for its innovative approaches to trade finance challenges facing the continent.
Kalyalya said the sustained growth of the bank over the years was probably a reflection of the dynamism of the host country.
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