IATF2023 Advisory Council Holds 2nd meeting in Cairo

IATF2023 Advisory Council Holds 2^nd meeting in Cairo

The Advisory Council of the Intra-African Trade Fair 2023 (IATF2023) held its second meeting on June 14, 2022 in Cairo in preparation for the trade fair scheduled to take place in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, from November 21 to 27, 2023. IATF2023 Advisory Council members discussed preparatory arrangements and were pleased with the progress on the organisation of the continental trade exhibition.

The meeting was presided over by His Excellency Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Chairman of the IATF2023 Advisory Council and former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Also in attendance at the meeting were Mr. Jean-Louis EKRA, deputy Chairperson of the IATF2023 Advisory Council and former President of Afreximbank; Ambassador Albert Muchanga, AU Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals, Dr.  Kaladji FADIGA, Director General of External Trade, representing the Minister of Commerce and Industry of Cote d’Ivoire; Ms. Grace Khoza, Principal Communication Adviser, representing the Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat; and Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade Initiative, Afreximbank.  Other new Members who have joined the IATF Advisory Council were H.E Ms. Baleka Mbete, Founder and Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of NaLHISA and former Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) and African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM).

IATF2023 will be the third edition of the African continent’s premier trade and investment event, following the resoundingly successful second edition, which was held in November 2021 in Durban, South Africa, and realised over $42.1 billion in trade and investment deals, 1501 exhibitors and 32,541 attendees from 128 countries across Africa and beyond.

The Chairman of the IATF2023 urged countries, exhibitors, buyers, investors from the African continent as well as abroad to register and participate in this continental event.  His Excellency Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, stated that IATF2023 also provides a platform for the continent to connect, unite and find African solutions to the ongoing crises and galvanise support towards the implementation of the AfCFTA.  

About the IATF Advisory Council

The Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) Advisory Council is the apex governance body that provides guidance on the preparations for the 2023 Trade Fair. Specifically, the Advisory Council provides advice and quality assurance support to Afreximbank, the African Union and the AfCFTA Secretariat on the organisation, and preparations to ensure that the Trade Fair is successful. In addition, it provides overall oversight of and promote the key pillars of IATF such as Exhibition, Conference Programme, Country Day Programme, Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX), Africa Automotive Show, AU Youth Programme, IATF Virtual and B2B/B2G/G2G Programme.

The Council draws together diverse membership comprising of independent high-level personalities, representatives from key partners in global and regional inter-governmental bodies and the private sector. These are the African Export-Import Bank , Africa Union (AU) , African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat , Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Government of Côte d'Ivoire,  African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM), Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), African Development Bank,  AeTrade Group,  International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) ,Pan-African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PACCI), South Africa-represented by KwaZulu-Natal Province (KZN), the Afro-Champions Initiative, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)/ African Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) and World Trade Centre Miami (WTCM).