Ethiopian Informer
ADDIS ABABA, May 4 (EI) — The second Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF-2020) has been postponed for next year due to concerns related to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak across the African continent, the African Union (AU) disclosed on Monday.
The second Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF-2020), which was initially set to take place from September 1 to 7 in Kigali, capital of Rwanda this year, was postponed by the AU Commission, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the government of Rwanda for one year period in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 55-member pan African bloc disclosed in a statement issued on Monday.
This came as the confirmed COVID-19 positive cases in Africa risen to 49,352, while the number of people died from the virus also reached 1,959 as of Wednesday, according to the Africa CDC.
Albert Muchanga, AU Commissioner for Trade and Industry, said that the postponement would allow stakeholders to focus on the urgent collective task of responding to the pandemic.
“We are facing an unprecedented health crisis. This is the time to join efforts to also mitigate the impact of the pandemic on African economies,” an AU statement quoted Muchanga as saying on Monday.
“We have agreed that the second IATF needed to take place in a more favorable context to enable African countries and companies to take full advantage of the Trade Fair, which will now become an element of their recovery strategy,” the AU Commissioner added.
According to the AU, the decision to postpone the high-level continental trade fair was endorsed by the advisory council of the Intra-African Trade Fair “after careful assessment of the situation.”
“Organized by Afreximbank in collaboration with the AU, the second IATF will still be hosted by the Government of Rwanda and is now scheduled to take place from 6 to 12 September 2021 in Kigali. It will now be dubbed IATF-2021,” an AU statement read.
Benedict Oramah, Afreximbank President, said that the continuing COVID-19 pandemic situation “was not conducive to holding such an important pan African event which was initially scheduled to take place in just 4 months.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic has forced governments, corporations and individuals to take unprecedented measures to ensure public safety,” Oramah said.
“It is our responsibility to comply with these measures to protect our host country and ensure the health and safety of all delegates, exhibitors and participants who have confirmed or expressed interest in taking part in the second edition of IATF,” he added.
The Intra-African Trade Fair Advisory Council also decided to postpone the third edition of IATF from 2022 to 2023 to be in line with the two-year intervals between IATF events.
According to the AU, the second edition of the biennial Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) is expected to provide a platform for entry into a single market of over 1.2 billion people joined together by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), serving as a marketplace bringing together continental and global buyers and sellers and showcasing goods and services, it was noted.
Photo – African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank)
