{"id":120091,"date":"2025-06-26T08:13:24","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T07:13:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=120091"},"modified":"2025-06-26T08:13:24","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T07:13:24","slug":"cardoso-urges-african-leaders-to-strengthen-institutions-embrace-afcfta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/cardoso-urges-african-leaders-to-strengthen-institutions-embrace-afcfta\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardoso Urges African Leaders to Strengthen Institutions, Embrace AfCFTA"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By \u200eDaniel Adaji<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200e<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200eGovernor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, has called on African leaders to prioritise institutional resilience and accelerate the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as key steps toward securing the continent\u2019s future.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200e<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200eSpeaking at the opening of the 2025 Annual Meetings of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in Abuja on Wednesday, Cardoso said Africa\u2019s ability to thrive amid rising global challenges depends on the strength of its institutions and strategic unity among its countries.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200e<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200e\u201cAfreximbank has helped us dream big. Now, it is time to deliver big,\u201d Cardoso said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200e<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200eHe warned that Africa faces multiple overlapping challenges &#8211; geopolitical tensions, trade protectionism, technological disruptions, and climate shocks &#8211; and stressed that resilience must be \u201cdeliberately engineered through strategic foresight, crisis preparedness, sound governance, and stakeholder trust.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200e<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200eThe event marked Afreximbank\u2019s 32nd anniversary and drew leaders and stakeholders from across Africa and beyond. Themed \u201cBuilding the Future on Decades of Resilience\u201d, the meeting will run from June 25 to 27 in Abuja.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200e<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200eCardoso highlighted Nigeria\u2019s deep ties with Afreximbank, stating, \u201cNigeria is both a founding member and the Bank\u2019s largest single beneficiary,\u201d having received about US$52bn in trade and project financing.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200e<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200eHe commended the Bank for its evolving role from a trade financier to a \u201ctrusted pan-African partner, strategic convener, and catalyst for change.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200e<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200eHe recalled Afreximbank\u2019s establishment in Abuja in 1993 to support trade when international finance institutions were withdrawing from Africa.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200e<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200eCardoso pointed to key interventions by the Bank, such as the US$10bn disbursed through the Counter-Cyclical Trade Liquidity Facility (COTRALF) during forex crises, and the US$2bn deal for 400 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in partnership with the African Union.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200e<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200eWhile praising the Bank\u2019s leadership under Prof. Benedict Oramah, Cardoso shifted focus to policy needs. He urged deeper regional integration and closer ties with Africa\u2019s diaspora, which he described as \u201ca vital extension of Africa\u2019s economic and cultural identity.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200e<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200eThe CBN governor also shared reforms targeted at diaspora Nigerians, including the Non-Resident Nigerian Ordinary Account and Non-Resident Nigerian Investment Account, aimed at boosting remittances and foreign investments.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200e<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200eReflecting on lessons from recent economic shocks, Cardoso emphasised the need for governments to rebuild trust and credibility through \u201cclarity, consistency, and confidence-building measures.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200e<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200eThe event also featured the launch of Afreximbank\u2019s flagship reports &#8211; 2025 African Trade Report and African Trade and Economic Outlook Report &#8211; meant to inform future policymaking on trade and development across the continent.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u200e<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By \u200eDaniel Adaji \u200e \u200eGovernor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, has called on African leaders to prioritise institutional resilience and accelerate the implementation of the&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":112370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - 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