Afreximbank, BDEAC Signs MoU For Promoting Trade, Regional Integration

By CLEMENT NWOJI, Abuja

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Development Bank of Central African States (BDEAC) have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to harmonize their efforts in the promotion of trade and regional integration.

President of Afreximbank, Dr. Benedict Oramah, speaking during the signing of the MOU at the Bank’s Cairo headquarters, said that the two institutions would collaborate in the identification, preparation and financing of projects and trade transactions in African states that are members of both entities.

A statement from the Afreximbank Cairo Headquarters quoted Oramah as saying that through co-financing, knowledge-sharing and capacity-building work, Afreximbank and BDEAC would join efforts to intensify industrialization, expand exports and promote intra-regional trade across countries of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC).

Also in his remarks, the President of BDEAC, Fortunato-Ofa Mbo Nchama, said that his institution’s decision to partner with Afreximbank was based on the strong alignment that existed between the strategic objectives of the two entities.

He explained that the collaboration would contribute to BDEAC’s work in supporting the structural transformation and diversification of central African economies through the construction of logistics infrastructure and industrial capacities and through the development of agro-processing and other key economic sectors, noting that those economies were still heavily dependent on commodity exports.

BDEAC is a public regional bank established in 1975 to promote the development and economic integration of CEMAC countries.

The members are Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Chad, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.