The Advisory Council of the second Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2020) has met in Kigali for its fifth session to review the event workplan and other initiatives accompanying the trade fair.
Addressing the meeting, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, IATF2020 Advisory Council Chairman and former President of Nigeria, told the organisers and partners “to remain fully committed with the same shared vision and with a common purpose so that we can make IATF2020 even bigger and better than IATF2018.”
The meeting, taking place seven months to IATF2020, was preceded by a roadshow, organised by Afreximbank in partnership with the Private Sector Federation Rwanda, to prepare the Rwandan business community to take advantage of the trade fair.
Also in attendance at the meeting were Jean-Louis Ekra, Advisory Council Deputy Chairman and former President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank); Prof. Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank; Kanayo Awani, Managing Director of Afreximbank’s Intra-African Trade Initiative; and Soraya Hakuziyaremye, Minister of Trade and Industry of Rwanda.
Others were Alfred Gakuba Kalisa, Ambassador of Rwanda to Egypt; Jean-Bertrand Azapmo, Consultant at the African Union Commission; Kebour Ghenna, Executive Director of the Pan-African Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Andoh Mensah, Manager, Industrialization, Trade and Investment Climate at the African Development Bank; Batanai Chikwene, Programme Management Officer at the African Trade Policy Centre; Dr. Edem Adzogenu, Special Advisor to the AfroChampions Executive Committee; Amadou Cire Sall, Senior Associate-Trade at the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation; and Kemi Arosanyin, Director at World Trade Centre Miami.
They were joined by Carol Weaving, Managing Director, Reed Exhibitions, the trade fair organiser; Terhas Asefaw Berhe, Managing Director of Brand Communications, the trade fair conference organiser; Valentine Nashipae, Managing Director of Cube Communications, the trade fair local organiser; and Omar Ben Yedder, Managing Director of IC Publications, the investment forum organiser.
Also in attendance were Calton Masters, Jamaican Ambassador to the African Union and Observer from the Sixth Region of the African Union; officials of the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Rwanda, and staff members of Afreximbank, Reed Exhibitions and Brand Communications.
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, IATF2020 Advisory Council Chairman and former President of Nigeria (2nd left), with (L-R) Afreximbank President Prof. Benedict Oramah; Jean-Louis Ekra, Advisory Council Deputy Chairman and former President of Afreximbank; and Soraya Hakuziyaremye, Minister of Trade and Industry of Rwanda, during the meeting in Kigali.
Group photo of the members of IATF2020 Advisory Council following their meeting in Kigali.