Trade With Africa awarded Amb. Albert Muchanga “the Champion of Trade 2019 Award”. Muchanga is the Commissioner for Trade and Industry of the African Union. He was being recognized for his achievements in promoting Intra-African Trade.
This was in recognition of his significant contribution to the Continental Integration and his tireless and remarkable work towards the launch of the operational phase of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in Niamey, Niger in July 2019.
“We have found in Ambassador Albert Muchanga a leader with a clear vision, tenacity, and rigor and on behalf of my generation, who believe in the future of Africa, it is an honor to present the Champion of Trade award to His Excellency” said Toyin Umesiri, Founder of the Trade with Africa Business Summit.
In his acceptance speech on Thursday, Muchanga emphasized that the long term answer to trade deflection is to move towards a customs union. “The short answer is to ensure effective monitoring of the implementation of the AfCFTA to detect possible issues and address them,” he said during the official opening of the 2nd edition of the Trade with Africa Business Summit in Chicago.
Ambassador Muchanga also delivered a 45 page keynote address on the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) covering three main points which were; the AfCFTA and the opportunities it brings to investors and traders, the current status of implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement and the point on what lies beyond the launch of the operational phase of AfCFTA that was held in Niamey, Niger on 7th July, 2019.
The event was attended by the U.S. and Africa business and political leaders including Mrs. Kanayo Award Managing Director Intra-African Trade Initiatives African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Ms. Tamara Maxwell, Director at the Export Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), Honorable Ben Okoyen, Consul General – Nigerian Consulate New York and Shakira Motan, Trade Commissioner – South African Consulate – Chicago.
The 2nd edition was themed: Growing U.S. – Africa Trade, Trade Financing, and Developing Africa’s Supply Chain sponsored by Nazaru LLC., Westrock Coffee and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in partnership with several other organizations.
