<p></p><p>Cote d’Ivoire Government has called on African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to increase its support to the country to enable it to raise its trading activities with other African countries. A statement in Abidjan on Tuesday by the bank, said Ivorian Prime Minister, Daniel Duncan, made the call when he received the bank’s delegation led by its President, Jean-Louis Ekra. <br></p> <p>Duncan said that exchanges with other African countries currently accounted for 34 per cent of Côte d’Ivoire’s total trade volume. He said that the country’s goal was to increase the contribution of African nations to its economy to 50 per cent by 2020. <br></p> <p>He identified Nigeria as Cote d’Ivoire’s primary trading partner, and said that the country needed the continued commitment of Afreximbank to enable it to establish local industries. According to him, the country needs the bank’s support particularly in the area of agro-processing, including cocoa, palm oil, rubber and cashew nuts, which need strong local value-addition. <br></p> <p>The Prime Minister commended Ekra for his leadership and professionalism which had helped in positioning the bank as a leading financial institution in Africa. He also congratulated Oramah on his appointment as the next president of the bank and pledged Côte d’Ivoire’s continued support to the bank in the implementation of its mandate. <br></p> <p>Earlier, Ekra had said that he was in the country to formally introduce the President Designate of the bank to the Ivorian authorities. <br></p> <p>He acknowledged Côte d’Ivoire’s sustained support to the bank and said that the branch of the bank, which was recently opened in Abidjan, would greatly improve access of Ivorian businessmen to its services.</p> <p> Speaking also, the president-designate of the bank pledged his commitment to pursuing the vision instituted by Ekra, adding that he would ensure that the bank remained a true catalyst for Africa’s trade development</p> <p>The bank, with headquarters in Cairo, was established in October, 1993, by African countries, private and institutional investors in the continent as well as non-African investors. Since 1994, Afreximbank had approved about 35 billion dollars, including about 4.5 billion dollars in 2014, in credit facilities for African businesses.<br></p><p></p>