President in Cote d’Ivoire for investment forum
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa arrived here last night to attend the Africa Investment Forum Market Days 2022 at the invitation of the African Development Bank.
The African Development Bank is one of the founding partners of the platform, which is the largest transactional investment marketplace on the continent.
Seventeen other African Heads of State and Government are expected to attend the summit.
Among the other Heads of State expected to attend are host President Alassane Ouattara, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Patrice Talon of Benin, Botswana’s Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi, Cape Verde’s Jose Maria Pereira, and Denis Sassou Ngueso of Congo Brazzaville.
Also attending are DRC President Felix Tshisekedi, Ethiopia’s SahleWork Zewde, Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, Liberia’s George Weah, Felipe Nyusi of Mozambique, Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, Julias Maada Wonie Bio of Sierra Leone, Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania, and Faure Gnassingbe of Togo.
The objectives of the forum, which will be the first face-to-face interaction since 2019 owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, are the creation of a foremost and crucial podium to attract domestic and foreign direct investment in African countries for the purpose of advancing projects to bankable stages, raising capital and speeding up financial closure of deals.
Running under the theme, “Building economic resilience through sustainable investments”, the forum aims to nurture fruitful engagements between the public and private sectors, leading to the realisation of bankable and de- risked projects within a conducive environment.
In an interview yesterday, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade acting Permanent Secretary, Mr Pearson Chigiji, said the AfDB had always been supportive of developmental projects under the Second Republic, which makes the invite all the more crucial.
“The President is attending the Africa Investment Forum 2022 from November 2 to 4 in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire at the invitation of the AfDB president, Dr Akinwumi Adesina,” said Mr Chigiji.