Djibouti agreed with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to collaborate in the financing and promotion of the country’s industrial base for export manufacturing and in the development of its trade-related infrastructure.
Under the terms of a protocol signed today at Egypt’s Al Qobba Presidential Palace in Cairo, Afreximbank will assist Djibouti in mobilising the human, technical and financial resources necessary for the completion of projects in the country’s logistics, infrastructure and manufacturing sectors, to strengthen Djibouti’s position as a gateway for trade for landlocked African economies.
President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh of Djibouti, who received an Afreximbank delegation led by Bank President Dr. Benedict Oramah for the signing ceremony, told the delegation that the financing of projects relating to export manufacturing in industrial parks, the renewable energy and telecommunications constituted the country’s current development priorities.
“We believe that Djibouti has a strategic role in promoting intra-African trade,” responded Dr. Oramah. According to him, given the country’s strategic location, it is moving towards becoming a key logistics hub for Africa. “Djibouti also has the potential to become a hub for light manufacturing,” added Dr. Oramah.
He commended Djibouti for concluding the ratification of its accession to the Afreximbank Establishment Agreement on record time, marking the full formalisation of its membership of the Bank, and pledged Afreximbank’s commitment to supporting Djibouti’s trade development drive.
Accompanying President Oramah from the Bank were Dr. George Elombi, Executive Vice President, Corporate Governance and Legal Services; Amr Kamel, Executive Vice President, Business Development and Corporate Banking; Dr. Hippolyte Fofack, Chief Economist and Director, Research and International Cooperation Department; Gerald Chihota, Head, Board Secretariat; Dr. Christiane Abou-Lehaf of the International Cooperation Unit; Morciad Chaparira of the Trade Finance Department; and Manal Mounir of the Communications Unit.
Headquartered in Cairo, 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 $41 billion in credit facilities for African businesses, including about $6.2 billion in 2015. The Bank had total assets of $9.4 billion as at 30 April 2016.