Across the Mediterranean A TRADE finance cooperation agreement was signed recently in Cairo by Banca Intesa, an Italian bank, and the African Export-Import Bank, Afreximbank, a multilateral trade finance bank. The agreement was signed by Christopher Edordu, president of Afreximbank, and Rony Hamaui, head of financial institutions and trade finance. The signing was attended by the Italian ambassador in Cairo, Antonio Badini. The agreement established a framework of cooperation between the two parties to harmonise efforts for the promotion of trade and economic development in Africa, according to Hamaui. Identifying and appraising transactions, risk mitigation, exchange of information and collaboration between staff will be among the agreement's objectives. Afreximbank, set up in 1993, has the mandate of promoting and expanding internal and external African trade, according to Edordu. "It is worth noting that Banca Intesa maintained its position last year as the number one Italian bank by market share for intermediating Italian exports," said Hamaui, adding that the bank has representative offices in Cairo and Tunis. "There is great potential for trade between Southern Europe and Africa," he said. He also emphasised that this agreement is considered an instrument for a focussed approach towards the pursuit of mutually rewarding trade relationships between Africa and Italy. "Trade finance is one of the greatest drivers for our corporate relationships," said Hamaui, emphasising that this agreement constitutes a vital piece in the mosaic of their capacity to lead their exporters or importers into countries where know-how on the ground needs to be developed. German fair ON THE OCCASION of the 16th International Trade Fair for Plastics & Rubber, the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce (GACIC) organised a press conference for the top industrial enterprises in Egypt, Eman Youssef reports. Messe Dusseldorf, the German company that organises trade fairs, in cooperation with GACIC, highlighted the newest trends and products that will be presented at the K 2004 fair. The fair will be held from 20 to 27 October in Dusseldorf. K 2004 will bring together some 2,900 world leading companies of plastics and rubber from more than 53 countries, signalling the interest of these companies in the huge potential and opportunities the German market has to offer, according to Bernd Jablonowski, project manager at Messe Dusseldorf. These companies will showcase innovations in plastics and rubber machinery, equipment, raw materials, finished and semi-finished products and processing solutions , according to Jablonowski. 228,000 experts are slated to attend, over half of them from overseas. "Egypt could benefit from the German experience," said Peter Geopfrich, chairman of GACIC, adding that existing plant facilities in Egypt need to be modernised and expanded. He also emphasised that the K fair first began in 1952 as a showcase of Germany's fledgling plastics industry. Today, the international trade fair has developed into the top trade event for plastics and rubber machinery manufacturers, raw materials suppliers and processors from around the world. "All companies are faced with challenges these days," said Jablonowski, adding that by offering an immediate interface with customers, the fair will provide Egypt with an ideal platform for demonstrating its presence in existing markets while opening new ones. A number of seminars will be held on the fringe of the fair. Meanwhile, Messe Dusseldorf will be busy preparing for the 17th International Trade Fair for Packaging Machinery from 21 to 27 April 2005. "Our aim is to attract more Egyptian companies to our fairs, as Egypt has a big market and is our gateway to the Middle East," he added.
