The second Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2021) will be held in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, from November 15 to 21.
The Trade Fair was initially scheduled to be held in Kigali, Rwanda, from December 8 to 14.
IATF2021 Advisory Council chairperson and former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said the decision to move the event to Durban was made after formal consultations with the government of Rwanda as logistical constraints related to the Covid-19 pandemic had adversely affected the progress of construction of a new facility to host the event.
“Relocating IATF2021 to Durban saves us time on the calendar and will enable African countries and corporates, as part of their recovery strategy, to take full advantage of the trade fair, which is also an important component of the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, under which trading started this year,” he said.
“Having undertaken a comprehensive assessment of the measures that are being taken by the African Union (AU) and African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) under the African Vaccine Acquisition Task Team (AVATT), as well as other initiatives to procure vaccines for the continent, we believe a significant number of people would have been vaccinated by November and this will allow us to have a successful event.
“We will continue working with the government of South Africa to ensure that all the Covid-19 measures are complied with during the trade fair as the safety of both residents and visitors is paramount,” said Obasanjo.