A former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who is also Chairman of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) Advisory Council, has said he wants the future generations to have greater expectations, choices and opportunities to succeed.
He spoke on Tuesday at the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) being held in Cairo, Egypt.
Obasanjo said the fair came after the successful signing of the AfCFTA, which seeks to enhance trade and economic growth across Africa, and expressed conviction that the IATF would contribute immensely to the implementation of the AfCFTA.
Obasanjo described the trade fair as a crucial instrument in making the AfCFTA work and said that Africa should focus on “what trade is needed, where the markets are, the size of, and the standards in those markets, and how to join the value chains that serve them”.
“It is our duty to create the environment where the entrepreneurial spirit of Africans can succeed,” he said. “Stronger economies yield the rewards of better health, education, improved employment opportunities and prosperity for all. I want our future generations to have greater expectations, greater choices and greater opportunities to succeed.
“It should be their right and I want this to become the norm rather than the exception.” he added.
The President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Prof. Benedict Oramah, in his remarks called for the implementation of initiatives that will add meaning to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
The opening ceremony included a ribbon cutting ceremony by President Obasanjo to declare the IATF open.
Transactions worth about $25 billion are expected to be concluded at the IATF which has almost 1,100 registered exhibitors from 42 countries.
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