Ramaphosa expected to officially open the Intra-Africa Trade Fair in Durban

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to officially open the Intra-Africa Trade Fair (IATF) that starts on Monday at the Durban International Convention Centre, in Kwazulu Natal.

The week-long event will see a representation of about 50 heads of states. The conference is organised by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in collaboration with the African Union (AU) and the African Continental Free Trade Area.

The aim is to deliberate on trade acceleration and investment throughout the African continent.

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Economic Development and Tourism, Ravi Pillay says the city is expected to host another major conference in December.

“Anecdotal evidence suggests that all our hotels are booked from today for the duration of this exhibition and that’s fantastic warm up start going into December. We’ve got one more major conference which is the Icasa the health HIV and Aids and the SGI conference which is in December as well,  not as big as this,  but certainly quite big. So that takes the ICC back and the entire business tourism sector towards what we know it to be,” says Pillay.

Africa is open for business! The second Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2021) kicks off on Monday, 15 November. KwaZulu-Natal Premier, H.E. Sihle Zikalala welcomes you to Durban. See you there!@GCIS_KZN#IATF2021 #Afreximbank #IATFINSA pic.twitter.com/PEpLsoSLn6

— Afreximbank (@afreximbank) November 13, 2021

Youth Participation: Intra-Africa Trade Fair 2021#InBusinessForABetterWorld @kzngov #IntraAfricanTradeFair pic.twitter.com/idfdHofxWY

— Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry NPC (@DurbanChamber) November 11, 2021

COVID-19 REGULATIONS

Meanwhile, Pillay says they have prepared the conference in line with Covid-19 regulations.

“When we signed and committed, we knew we were going into it with a little bit of question around how COVID will roll out. Of course, we’re in level one, which gives us the maximum possibilities of having an event like thESE. we will of course and the organisers are aware that we’ve got to comply with all the level one regulations, but even then across the massive length of this exhibition, it’s not just the ICC itself it’s the open spaces of the ICC walnut grove which has been closed going into the exhibition centre itself. so that’s a massive space to be able to spread our delegation and be in compliance with COVID -19 regulations,” Pillay.