Arab Finance: Hassan Abdalla, Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), and George Elombi, President and Chairman of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), held a joint press briefing to address preparations for the 33rd Afreximbank Annual Meetings (AAM2026), according to an emailed press release.
The AAM2026 will be held in Alamein City under the patronage of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi from June 21st to June 24th. It is expected to attract more than 100 local and international media representatives, both in person and virtually.
This reflects Egypt’s role as host country for one of Africa’s leading annual gatherings focused on advancing the continent’s economic transformation.
Abdalla emphasized the country’s readiness to host the event, as well as its long-standing partnership with Afreximbank to support Africa’s economic development, trade, and investment.
He said: “Egypt is honored to host the 33rd Afreximbank Annual Meetings in Alamein, reflecting our continued commitment to supporting Africa’s economic integration, trade expansion, and sustainable development.”
"The meetings extend beyond conventional discussions to advance key continental priorities, including trade finance, regional integration, and the pressing need to reform the global financial architecture to better reflect the development needs of emerging economies,” the CEB’s governor added.
For his part, Elombi commented: “AAM2026 will provide a valuable opportunity to strengthen partnerships, unlock investment opportunities, and advance discussions on intra-African trade, Africa’s financial sovereignty, and its economic resilience in an increasingly complex global environment.”
Afreximbank seeks to identify key projects and actionable programs that will accelerate the transformation of Africa’s trade infrastructure, the bank’s chairman noted.
“Africa’s pace of growth will be driven by industrialization and intra-African trade, and achieving this will require significant improvements in processing, logistics, and, importantly, policy support from governments.”
Over the past three years, the lender has provided $9.5 billion in financing to Egypt, Elombi indicated.
The chairman also addressed the launch of the Afreximbank African Trade Centre (AATC) in New Capital in December 2025, noting that the landmark $250 million development will strengthen Egypt’s role as a regional hub for trade facilitation, payments, logistics, and SME development.
As for the proposed pan-African Gold Bank, the initiative is designed to formalize Africa’s gold value chains, boost central bank reserves, and reduce the continent’s reliance on offshore refining and external trading centers.
The AAM2026 program will offer policy discussions, plenary sessions, business and investment forums, deal-signing ceremonies, major announcements, networking events, bilateral meetings, and forums on intra-African trade and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
It will also feature presentations on trade finance, industrialization, energy, infrastructure, and digital transformation.
