Buhari leaves Paris for South Africa to help attract $40bn investment

President Muhammadu Buhari will, on Saturday, leave Paris for Durban, South Africa, at the special invitation of  President Cyril Ramaphosa, to the inauguration of the second Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) 2021.

The IATF according to a statement by Femi Adesina, the President’s spokesman, will help attract continental trade investment deals worth $40billion dollars.

The event, billed for November 15 to November 21, was convened by the African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIM), in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat.

The theme of the Fair, ”Building Bridges for a Successful AfCFTA”  aims at boosting trade and investments across the African continent, Adesina said, while stressing that the event would also seek to create the enabling environment for businesses to thrive across the continent.

He said this would bring to fruition the lofty ideas behind the creation of the AfCFTA, by providing a platform to further identify and proffer solutions to challenges militating against intra-African trade.

”The event is also expected to generate market information, needed to connect buyers and sellers throughout the continent.

”Global businesses, including non-African international brands, are expected to key into opportunities generated by the fair, thereby attracting to continental trade investment deals worth $40billion dollars,” he added.

He revealed that many Nigerian investors had since arrived Durban to take advantage of the event, which the President would attend with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, and the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo,

Others are, the Director General, National Intelligence Agency, Amb. Ahmed Rufai and the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Export Promotion Council,  Segun Awolowo.

President Buhari is expected back in Nigeria on Nov. 16, Adesina said. (NAN)