Harare – The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity (NBU) of Uzbekistan have entered into a cooperation agreement aimed at strengthening economic relations between African countries and Uzbekistan.
The agreement, which was signed on 5 September on the side-lines of the Egyptian-Uzbek Business in Tashkent, will see the two banks financing Africa-Uzbek trade valued at up to $50 million, on a non-committal basis, under the economic development initiatives of the Government of Uzbekistan.
The agreement will also have Afreximbank and NBU cooperating in the promotion of business opportunities for Uzbek and African entities in Uzbekistan; supporting exporters and importers in Africa and Uzbekistan; and supporting investments by African entities in Uzbekistan.
Executive Vice President, Finance, Administration and Banking Services, Denys Denya, signed the agreement on behalf of Afreximbank, while Alisher Mirsoatov, Chairman of NBU, signed for his institution.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mr. Denya said that the agreement would make it possible for the institutions to consult, cooperate, exchange information and share views on areas of common interest in order to foster business opportunities and mutual cooperation.
NBU had invited Afreximbank to join the Egyptian delegation, led by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, to the Egyptian-Uzbek Business forum.
Also joining the delegation were Dr. Sahar Nasr, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, and Amr Nassar, Minister of Trade and Industry, as well as a number of prominent Egyptian businessmen.
Over the years, Afreximbank has become a reputable and solid regional development finance institution, meeting significant financing needs in trade development and trade finance in Africa.
Zimbabwe is likely to benefit from the Bank’s initiative since Afreximbank has been the country’s biggest benefactor since the turn of the century, at a time when most global lenders had stopped extending fresh lines of credit to the southern African nation, either at the behest of Western countries that were livid over the country’s land redistribution programme or over defaulting on earlier loans.
The bank launched Trade Debt-backed Securities (AFTRADES) which is a $100 million facility and associated instruments aimed at alleviating the liquidity challenges confronting the financial sector in Zimbabwe.
It also provided a $600 million line of credit to Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to finance the central bank’s trade-related transactions and projects in Zimbabwe.
More recently, President of the Bank Dr Benedict Oramah announced that the Bank is arranging between $1 billion and $1.5 billion of funded and guarantee facilities to support businesses interested in investing in Zimbabwe.
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