By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Egyptian capital city of Cairo has been announced as the new host of the third Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2023) which will now take place from 9 to 15 November 2023.
The IATF2023 Advisory Council said in Cairo that the decision to change the venue and dates of the continental event, originally scheduled for Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from 21 to 27 November 2023, followed indications received from the Government of Côte d’Ivoire that it was no longer in a position to host the trade fair due to difficulties faced in importing semi-permanent structures and in complying with certain hosting requirements.
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Chairman of the IATF2023 Advisory Council, which is the governance body of the trade fair, commended the commitment of the Egyptian Government for agreeing to step in as the new host.
“We must thank the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt for its responsiveness, flexibility and dedication in, once again, hosting the Intra-African Trade Fair,” said Chief Obasanjo.
“This, undoubtably, demonstrates its commitment to promoting and expanding trade among African countries. With Egypt, the biennial IATF was launched in 2018 with flying colours. We, therefore, reassure all IATF2023 stakeholders, including exhibitors, conference delegates, buyers and trade visitors, that we have no doubt that the experience we have gained with Egypt in 2018 and with South Africa during the second edition in Durban in 2021, will make this third edition of Africa’s premier trade and investment platform a success beyond our expectations.”
Host country of the highly successful inaugural IATF in 2018, Egypt offers first-class infrastructure and facilities. The IATF2023 organisers, in close collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry, are on track to promptly finalise the necessary arrangements and ensure that IATF2023 takes place as planned in excellent conditions.
“Coordination is underway with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to host the third edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair, due to be held during 9th – 15th November 2023,” said Eng. Ahmed Samir, Minister of Trade and Industry of Egypt.
“We are keen on extending all-out support to convene the fair in a form that suits Egypt’s position in Africa. IATF2023 will provide a unique and valuable platform for businesses to access an integrated African market of over 1.3 billion people with a GDP of over US$3.5 trillion created under the African Continental Free Trade Area.”
IATF2023 harkens to the decision of the 2023 Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union which adopted “Acceleration of AfCFTA Implementation” as the African Union Theme of the Year 2023. This underscores the high importance of the IATF as a continental initiative and as the marketplace for the AfCFTA.
Organised by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) is intended to provide a unique platform for facilitating trade and investment information exchange in support of increased intra-African trade and investment, especially in the context of implementing the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
IATF brings together continental and global players to showcase and exhibit their goods and services and to explore business and investment opportunities in the continent. It also provides a platform to share trade, investment and market information with stakeholders and allows participants to discuss and identify solutions to the challenges confronting intra-African trade and investment.
In addition to African participants, the Trade Fair is also open to businesses and investors from non-African countries interested in doing business in Africa and in supporting the continent’s transformation through industrialisation and export development.
The 3rd Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2023) is expected to attract:
More than 1,600 exhibitors.
More than 35,000 visitors, buyers and conference delegates from all 55 African countries, the Diaspora and the rest of the world; and More than US$43 Billion in trade and investment deals.
