Published: June 3, 2021

Cited by: AECAS, Sputnik China, Russia Business Today

Afreximbank in Talks With Russia on COVID-19 Vaccine Supplies, Manufacturing Options

ST.PETERSBURG, June 3 (Sputnik), Jonathan Rowson – The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is interested in the acquisition of Russia’s COVID-19 vaccines, and is also exploring options to begin producing them on the African continent, Amr Kamel, the bank’s executive vice president, told Sputnik in an interview, adding that both parties are currently holding talks on the matter.

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Afreximbank Hopes for Boost in Ties With Russia Ahead of Memorandum Signing at SPIEF

ST. PETERSBURG, June 3 (Sputnik), Jonathan Rowson – The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) expects that a memorandum of understanding with the Russian Association of Economic Cooperation With African States (AECAS), which is set to be signed later this week at the ongoing St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), will further boost trade and investment ties between Russia and the African continent, Amr Kamel, Afreximbank executive vice president, told Sputnik in an interview.

“The memorandum of understanding that we are about to sign is another step in increasing cooperation between the Russian Federation and Afreximbank,” Kamel said.

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Afreximbank Working to Foster Vaccine Manufacturing Capacity in Africa

ST.PETERSBURG, June 3 (Sputnik), Jonathan Rowson – The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) aims to support vaccine manufacturing capacity on the continent to boost the region’s preparedness for pandemics, Amr Kamel, the bank’s executive vice president, told Sputnik in an interview.

“We’re now looking much closer at also supporting manufacturing within the continent because we realize that, every time a pandemic happens, we don’t want to end up in the same place, and we’ve already identified two or three different companies that can basically start that,” he said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

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Russia, Africa on Track to Meet Trade Targets Set at 2019 Inaugural Forum – Afreximbank

ST.PETERSBURG, June 3 (Sputnik), Jonathan Rowson – Annual trade between Russia and Africa roughly doubled from $10 billion to $20 billion in the years preceding 2019’s Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum, and both parties are on track to hit the predicted $40 billion target despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Amr Kamel, Afreximbank executive vice president, told Sputnik in an interview.

Kamel stated that when Afreximbank’s president, Prof. Benedict Oramah, predicted in 2019 that bilateral trade would increase to $40 billion, several projects worth about $5 billion had already been in the works. According to the bank executive, many of the plans have been affected by the pandemic because “big projects of that nature usually require a lot of due diligence and actual on-the-ground work.”