By Uzor Odigbo
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and AFREXIMBANK have invited Dr. Paul Adalikwu, Secretary General of Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA) as a keynote speaker at the Africa Maritime and Logistics Conference in Egypt on November 9 , 2023.
In a letter jointly signed by Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of AfCFTA and Professor Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of AFREXIMBANK Board of Directors, Adalikwu is being invited to lead the discourse on “Peculiarities of the African Maritime Industry – Scope, Challenges and Opportunities”.
The conference which will be taking place on the sidelines of the Intra African Trade Fair 2023 with the theme “Connecting African Markets” according to the organisers, is intended to facilitate trade and investment information exchange in support of increased intra African trade.
The International African Trade Fair which holds from November 9 to 15, 2023 will attract more than 1600 exhibitors; over 35,000 visitors, buyers and conference delegates from 55 countries from within and outside Africa hopes to be the ground to seal more than US$43B in trade and investment deals.
READ ALSO
AfreximBank partners Feet ‘N’ Tricks on African freestyle football contest
Adalikwu’s presentation is expected to set the tone for deeper insight into the future and prospects of a viable continent wide maritime sector that will promote port to port interface between countries in Africa while proffering solutions to maritime insecurity that tends to impede seamless vessel traffic.
The conference which will hold under the theme “Building a Robust African Maritime and Logistics Sector Towards a successful Implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area” is one of the biggest trade related events on the continent.
The MOWCA SG’s presentation shall also feature overview of the organisation’s confidence building interface with relevant governments and stakeholders in the global maritime community towards harnessing the many untapped maritime potentials for investment, job creation, leisure, aquaculture and others.
Adalikwu shall also bring participants to speed with efforts towards MOWCA evolving into an African Maritime Organisation (AMO) that will strengthen African voice in the International Maritime Organisation and other essential multilateral bodies and an overview of the revived MOWCA in the last two years
