The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Angolan Sovereign Fund (FSDEA), Armando Manuel, pointed out this Saturday, in Abuja (Nigeria), the digitalization of business, electrification and trade facilitation as paths in the value chain to generate infrastructure development in Africa.
Armando Manuel was speaking during the 2024 African Caucus meeting, on the facilitation of Intra-African Trade to catalyze the sustainable development of the continent, according to a note from the Embassy of Angola in Nigeria, Benin, Niger and ECOWAS sent to ANGOP today.
During the event, the document states, the Angolan also gave a lecture on the analysis of the impacts of digitalization on the economic development of African countries, in a context of geopolitical tensions and the impact of climate change.
The Angolan delegation to the event included the executive director of the BNA, Miguel Bartolomeu Miguel, the national directors of International Cooperation for Development of the Ministry of Planning, Gil Henriques, and of the Office of Studies, Planning and International Relations of the Ministry of Finance, Patrício Neto, and the ambassador to Nigeria, José Bamóquina Zau.
The Caucus is a meeting of African governors, the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund and the Central Bank of African Countries, and the Ministers of Finance and Economy.
The meeting was chaired by Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Adebayo Olawale Edun, who outlined consensus pathways to boost intra-African trade and a pan-African financial architecture more suited to the continent’s context.
The Caucus defined the African consensus position for the meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund institutions, to be held next October in Washington, United States of America.
The event focused its discussions on strengthening pan-African payments ecosystems for integrated development, trade facilitation and regional integration in Africa, among other issues. Nigeria expressed its intention to host the African Central Bank and requested support from the continent.
Some key avenues to boost intra-African trade were highlighted, such as strengthening the pan-African payment ecosystem, improving energy access, affordability and connectivity in line with the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
They called on the IMF and the World Bank to ensure that support to member countries continues to be guided by principles of balance and impartiality, and accepted the challenge of strengthening the African payment ecosystem by harmonizing trading rules, as well as settlement cycles and listing fees on major African exchanges.
Participants resolved to accelerate financial integration, with the aim of increasing diversification of asset allocation across geographies and sectors, and addressing liquidity challenges that have consistently constrained the promotion of African trade and investment.
They chose to take advantage of blockchain technology and artificial intelligence in the payment system, to improve its efficiency and reduce intermediaries in the processes.
They recognized the urgent need for the implementation of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to facilitate intra-African trade, increase financial inclusion and promote socio-economic development. SJ/VC
2024-08-04 23:27:23