The Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Mr Parks Tau, has concluded a working visit to Egypt where he signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).
This is a significant milestone after South Africa officially joined the Afreximbank as a full sovereign Class A shareholder in April this year, unlocking access to a massive USD14 billion Country Programme.
The Afreximbank is a multilateral financial institution, headquartered in the Republic of Egypt, whose founding purposes are the facilitation, promotion and expansion of intra- and extra-African trade.
The Country Programme announced as part of signing the MoU, gives South African businesses, state-owned enterprises, and financial institutions access to trade and industrial finance, funding to support transformation, risk coverage, and project funding, including to expand into continental markets under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Tau led a team of senior officials of his department and entities to meetings with Afreximbank representatives led by its President in Al Alamein, Egypt which culminated in the MOU signing. He said the partnership enables South Africa to better support exports, investments and transformation through ensuing that local firms have access to expanded funding.
“The proposed Country Programme is designed to support South Africa’s objectives linked to structural economic transformation, industrialisation, export development, and regional economic integration objectives. Under the proposed multi-year programme, Afreximbank will deploy a coordinated package of financing, risk mitigation, advisory and catalytic interventions targeting priority industrial sectors such as manufacturing, mineral beneficiation, energy and infrastructure, Special Economic Zones and industrial parks, as well as developing intra-African trade and AfCFTA participation, among others,” he said.
Tau emphasised that the Country Programme represents more than just capital deployment.
“It is a strategic trade and industrial partnership that will enable South Africa to achieve key economic transformation objectives such as positioning SA as a global leader in green hydrogen and critical minerals. It will also assist in efforts to redistribute economic power through inclusive industrialization, strengthen African value chains and AfCFTA integration towards building lasting trade infrastructure.”
ENDS
Enquiries:
Kaamil Alli – Ministerial Spokesperson
Mobile: +27 82 520 6813
WhatsApp: +27 82 520 6813
E-mail: KAlli@thedtic.gov.za Issued by: The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic)
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