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By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday left Paris, France to join African leaders in Durban, South Africa for the official opening ceremony of the 2nd Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) 2021 expected to take place on Monday.

President Buhari’s participation at the trade fair was at the invitation of the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa.

A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Femi Adesina explained that the event, held from November 15 to November 21, is being convened by the African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIM) in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat.

The statement further said that the theme of the Fair, ‘Building Bridges for a Successful AfCFTA’ aims at boosting trade and investment across the African continent.

“It also promises to create the enabling environment for businesses to thrive across the African continent; bring to fruition the lofty ideas behind the creation of the AfCFTA by providing the platform to further identify and proffer solutions to challenges militating against intra-African trade and; generate market information needed to connect buyers and sellers throughout the continent,” the statement further explained.

It also said, “Global businesses including non-African international brands are expected to key into opportunities generated by the fair, thereby attracting for the continent trade and investment deals worth $40billion. Various Nigerian investors are already in Durban to take advantage of the event.”

The President will be accompanied on the trip by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, Director General, National Intelligence Agency, Amb. Ahmed Rufai Abubakar and the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Segun Awolowo.

President Buhari is expected back in Nigeria on Tuesday, November 16.