Buhari To Attend Intra African Trade Fair In South Africa

President Muhammadu Buhari is expected on Saturday to leave Paris, France for Durban, South Africa.

This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.

President Buhari will join other African leaders at the official opening ceremony of the second Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) 2021 in South Africa.

“President Muhammadu Buhari will, Saturday, leave Paris for Durban, South Africa, at a special invitation by President Cyril Ramaphosa, to join other African leaders at the Official Opening Ceremony of the 2nd Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) 2021 which takes place on Monday,” the statement read in part.

The event is scheduled to hold from November 15 to November 21 and is being 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.

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The theme of the event – Fair, Building Bridges for a Successful AfCFTA – aims at boosting trade and investment across the African continent.

“It also promises to create the enabling environment for businesses to thrive across the African continent; bring to fruition the lofty ideas behind the creation of the AfCFTA by providing the platform to further identify and proffer solutions to challenges militating against intra-African trade and; generate market information needed to connect buyers and sellers throughout the continent,” Adesina said in the statement.

He added that global businesses including non-African international brands are expected to key into opportunities generated by the fair, thereby attracting for the continent trade and investment deals worth $40billion.

The President will be accompanied on the trip by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo; Director-General, National Intelligence Agency, Ahmed Rufai Abubakar and the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Export Promotion Council,  Segun Awolowo.

President Buhari is expected back in Nigeria on Tuesday, November 16.