Statement by Amb. Albert M. Muchanga

African Union Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals.

Signing of the Hosting Agreement for the Third Intra-African Trade Fair.

Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, 25^th March, 2022

 

Your Excellency Alassane Ouattara, President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, represented by Your Excellency Patrick Achi, Prime Minister of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire;

Your Excellency, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Chairperson of the Advisory Council of the Intra-African Trade Fair, Former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and most recently, top scorer in a highly competitive football match;

Mr. Jean Louis Ekra; Vice Chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Intra-African Trade Fair;

Your Excellency Prof. Benedict O. Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export Import Bank;

Honorable Souleymane Diarrassouba, Minister of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire;

Your Excellency Wamkele Mene, Secretary General, African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, represented by the Chief Technical Advisor, Mr. Prudence Sebahizi; 

 

Distinguished Guests;

Ladies and Gentlemen.

 

I am very happy to be back here in Abidjan, the capital city of Cote d’Ivoire, on this auspicious occasion of the signing of the Hosting Agreement for the third edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair scheduled to take place here next year.

Right from the beginning of my statement, I would like to thank Your Excellency, the Government and People of Cote d’Ivoire, for the warm welcome and hospitality afforded to me and my delegation since our arrival yesterday.

We feel at home. 

We are at home.

I would also like to salute the presence of Your Excellency, President Ouattara, represented by the Prime Minister Achi, at the signing ceremony of the hosting Agreement for the third edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair.

The presence of Your Excellency greatly raises the stature of this event. It gives it much visibility.

It also signifies the importance that the Government and People of Cote d’Ivoire attach to the continental responsibility of hosting the Intra-African Fair next year.

I do recall the strong spirit demonstrated by Cote d’Ivoire when bidding to host next year’s Intra-African Trade Fair in a very competitive selection process that ultimately required the involvement of Ministers.

 

Through Minister Souleymane Diarrassouba, Cote d’Ivoire prevailed and won the bid in a transparent, free and fair competition. I reaffirm my congratulations to the Government and People of Cote d’Ivoire for winning the bid, after a strong pitch, to host the third edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair.

With your presence here, Your Excellency, and that strong spirit of pitching to host, I have no doubt in my mind that the third edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair will be well prepared for and generate results that will satisfy us all.

And we are assured of another success by Cote d’Ivoire. I am advised Cote d’Ivoire will also be hosting the African Cup of Nations 2023, which is another popular continental event.

At this stage, let me state that I bring fraternal greetings from His Excellency Dr. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission. 

He also sends his best wishes for the success of this signing ceremony, and, the consequent preparations for the third edition of the Intra African Trade Fair which, as earlier said, will be held in this beautiful city of Abidjan. This is a city of culture, fashion and, among other key characteristics, commerce.

The hosting of the third edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair will give added dynamism to the commercial strength of Abidjan. The Fair will bring more than 15-20,000 exhibitors, visitors, buyers, sellers, as well as makers and implementers of commercial policies across Africa.

The third edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair also comes against a background where there have been disruptions of global supply chains as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the war in Ukraine. 

Increasingly, the fate of Africa is to develop regional and continental value chains and the Intra-African Trade Fair, as a source of trade information and commercial opportunities, plays a critical role in this strategic repositioning.

After Cairo in 2018, and Durban in 2021, the Intra-African Trade Fair is finally coming to West Africa.

It is not a surprise that it will be held in a country that is not only the world’s largest producer of cocoa, but also the largest economy in the West African Economic and Monetary Union.

The place of Cote d’Ivoire in intra-African trade is also very much noticeable, in particular, with the  key role it plays in transit trade for neighboring, landlocked countries. This is a role which is expected to promote trade facilitation and, in the process, enhance implementation of the Agreement and Protocols of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

The African Continental Free Trade Area is emerging as the new domestic market for Africa.

In Cairo 2018, we unveiled a brand called the Intra-African Trade Fair.

 In Durban last year, we consolidated the brand. 

 

And I would like at this stage, to once more, thank the Governments and People of Egypt and South Africa for contributing to the development of this brand which has huge potential to grow with a dynamism of its own as a self-financing special purpose vehicle.

The African Union Commission is pleased to be associated with the development of the Intra-African Trade Fair brand and the signing of the Hosting Agreement for the third edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair.

As a strategic collaborator in the management of the Intra-African Trade Fair preparatory process, the African Union Commission will play its part just as we have done from inception, in line with the Pan-African vision of creating: ‘an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the international arena.’

We will, in this respect, continue to play our roles of galvanizing and mobilizing African Union Member States and other countries of the world as well as the African and global private sector to not only participate in the third edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair but also use it a source of mutually assured prosperity by building bridges of trade and investment.

Indeed, the Intra-African Trade Fair is a platform to bridge the trade, investment and business information gaps among market players across Africa.

It brings together businesses from within and outside the Continent in a seven-day event of exhibitions, networking, information sharing as well as transacting.

The African Union Commission will also contribute through programme activities.

Let me briefly mention six of them. One is operational while five are still at study phases but critical to the development of the Intra-African Trade Fair brand.

The first one is the African Trade Observatory that is being financed by the European Union with technical assistance from the International Trade Centre. The online portal will; among others, give real time trade information on export and import opportunities across Africa as well as general trade statistics.

The second one is mapping of regional and continental value chains across Africa. This will help in identifying and developing value chains that benefit each African country and consequently, promote win-win outcomes in our industrialization drive and continental economic integration. We are undertaking this with financing from GIZ of Germany in collaboration with the International Trade Centre and United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

The third one is the African Union Youth Start-Up Programme, which was launched in partnership with Ae-Trade Group and the African Export Import Bank during the second edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair held in Durban, South Africa last year. It provides an opportunity for the development of youth entrepreneurship, which is vital in reducing youth unemployment across our Continent.

The fourth one, where we are collaborating with the African Development Bank and AUDA-NEPAD is, through a study to come up with Key Actions to Drive Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development in Africa. The programme activities to emerge from this study would position our Continent to achieve sustained economic growth rates of 7 to 10% between now and 2052, thirty years from now. With this study, we would like to ensure that we achieve poverty reduction through structural transformation of our economies.

Related to this is another study, the fifth one, to be undertaken in collaboration with the African Export Import Bank on increasing Africa’s share of global trade which has progressively reduced from about 6% in the 1970s to a low of 2.8 to 3% currently. The main outcome of the study would be to enhance Africa’s export competitiveness in global markets.

In looking at the six study, I will start by saying that the bright economic future of Africa lies in deeper continental economic integration that overcomes small size and fragmentation.

In this respect, with financial support from the European Union, we will soon be commissioning a readiness assessment to move Africa towards a Customs Union/Common Market in line with Assembly directive of 2019 which is part of sustaining Africa’s commitment to the realization of the African Economic Community, in line with the Abuja Treaty of 1991.

The African Continental Free Trade Area secretariat, Regional Economic Communities, the African Development Bank, the African Export Import Bank, AUDA-NEPAD and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa will be collaborating partners in this assessment from the terms of reference to production of the final study report.

As I come to the end of my statement, let me state that with the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic and the war in Ukraine, I am keenly aware that logistical preparations at the grounds of the Intra-African Trade Fair 2023 will be challenging, highly challenging.

However, as the saying goes, where there is a will, there is a way. And I may add, always.

I am, therefore, confident that the Government and People of Cote d’Ivoire will be able to overcome any challenges that may emerge in the preparatory process and give us a third edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair that will bear a very visible signature of distinct success.

It will be.

I am certain about that.

The strong commitment of the Government and People of Cote d’Ivoire to serve Africa will once again prevail, absolutely, against all odds.

I will end here and thank you all for your kind attention.