Cairo, Egypt – The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their collaboration in promoting trade across Africa. This agreement aims to leverage Africa’s vast resources and unlock new trade opportunities.
The MoU establishes a framework for joint efforts in key areas like trade finance, tackling non-tariff barriers, and supporting the digital economy. Capacity building, managing fisheries subsidies, and promoting the sports and creative industries are also included. This collaboration will be crucial in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
“The WTO Secretariat is a natural partner for Afreximbank,” said Professor Benedict Oramah, Afreximbank President and Chairman. “We share a commitment to promoting trade, and this MoU allows us to expand our collaboration beyond current initiatives like the FIFA C4+ Cotton Project.”
One area of focus will be supporting the cotton industry in Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mali (C4+ countries). The goal is to develop local and regional cotton processing capabilities and integrate them into the global supply chain. This could create 500,000 jobs in West Africa alone.
“I am particularly pleased to see support for agriculture, food security, and tackling harmful fisheries subsidies,” said WTO Director-General Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. “I also welcome Afreximbank’s commitment to explore financing for the C4+ countries to increase value addition.”
Developing this domestic processing capacity requires significant investment – an estimated $5 billion over the next decade. Afreximbank and the WTO will work together to address capacity building, access to finance, and infrastructure needs to make this vision a reality.
