Ayman Gamal El Dine Mesharafa, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chief of Protocol of Egypt, on 24 November visited the Headquarters of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) for discussions aimed at reinforcing relations between the Bank and Egypt.
Discussions during the meeting covered the privileges and immunities granted to Afreximbank in Egypt and the Bank’s financing of transactions aimed at supporting the country’s trade and industrial growth.
Mr. Mesharafa heard that since inception, Afreximbank had approved credit facilities in excess of $8 billion in support of Egyptian corporate and financial institutions. Recent approvals include $3.7 billion in credit facility agreements in favor of the financial sector; $70 million disbursed to the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company as part of a syndicated medium-term facility to partially finance Egypt’s Emergency Power Plan; and a $75-million medium-term facility provided to the Egyptian Ethylene and Derivatives Company for the construction of a petrochemical complex.
Ayman Gamal El Dine Mesharafa, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chief of Protocol of Egypt (left), with Dr. Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, during their meeting in Cairo.
The Bank has also launched a special Egypt-Africa Trade Promotion Programme to provide trade finance support to help Egyptian entities increase their commercial activities and tap into investment opportunities in other parts of Africa.
Ayman Gamal El Dine Mesharafa, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chief of Protocol of Egypt signing the Knowledge Center Guestbook
Mr. Mesharafa commended the work being done by Afreximbank and expressed the government’s commitment to supporting pan-African entities which contribute to the economic development of the continent.
He was subsequently conducted around the Bank’s Knowledge Center where he witnessed a presentation covering publications by the Bank, its partnerships with academic institutions and the knowledge resources available in its library.