- Deploy Technology To Monitor Borders – Afreximbank Tells Nigeria, Others
The Africa Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has advised Nigeria and other African countries to leverage on technology in monitoring the activities within their borders
President of the Afreximbank, Prof Benedict Oramah stated this while speaking at the second edition of the African Investment Forum, which opened in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Monday.
Oramah, when responding to a question on the relevance of the African Continental Free Trade Area with the border closure by Nigeria, expressed confidence that Nigeria would resolve the issues with its West African neighbours before AfCFTA’s commencement in July 2020.
He said: “Trade deals on AfCFTA will start July 1, 2020. Nigeria will resolve its border challenges before then.”
Oramah further noted that the continental trade agreement was important in turning African countries to developed economies.
He expressed confidence that Nigeria would not turn its back on the agreement which it had signed.
He said: “Nigeria will resolve its border challenges before then. Nigeria has signed the agreement and will not take the agreement lightly. Even in marriages, there can be challenges. The border closure is a temporary measure.”
Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari in July signed the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement at the 12th extraordinary session of the assembly of the union on AfCFTA and the first mid-year coordination meeting of the African Union (AU) and the regional economic communities (RECs) in Niamey, Niger Republic.
What you should know: By the agreement, the nation’s products and services will be exported beyond its borders, it also allows other manufacturers to export products into Nigeria.
However, with the on-going border closure in the country, it can not be ascertained if the Federal Government would back out by next year, 2020.
The Federal Government has continued to insist that only the first phase of the border closure ends on January 31st, as it is ready to shut its border as long as it takes until the neighbouring countries learn to respect the rule of fair trade.
Meanwhile “a tripartite committee is to be convened and hosted here in Nigeria, comprising the delegation- committee from Benin republic, from Niger and Nigeria.
“Each country will come with the heads of the ministries of a foreign affair, interior, finance, the customs, immigration and the NIA, the security segment”, to discuss the conditions the Federal Government has listed out for the reopening of its borders, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama had stated.