By David Agba
Abuja
GAA Exhibitions & Conferences, organisers of ATIGS 2018 yesterday announced that the International Trade Centre (ITC) has joined forces with the Africa Trade and Investment Global Summit (ATIGS), to advance the event goals and objectives.
ATIGS 2018 will be held under the main theme “Driving Trade, Unleashing Investment and Enhancing Economic Development: the Gateway to African Markets”, ATIGS 2018 goals and objectives are aligned with two of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): (SDGs 8 and 17).
The vision of ATIGS is built on the model of rotating the location of the summit every two years through a bidding process and organizing country specific ATIGS in between, with upcoming editions in Washington D.C – 2018, Dubai-2020; Beijing -2022; Brussels-2024, Addis Ababa -2026; and, South America-2028. Several high-level speakers have already confirmed to grace ATIGS 2018 from South Africa, Ghana, USA, Nigeria, UAE, Australia, China, and Kenya among others.
The Preliminary Featured Sessions will include: Africa and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, AU Agenda 2063: The Africa Future We Want, Stepping Up the Pace: African Development Bank ‘High 5’, African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), Doing Business in Africa tracks, Investing in Africa tracks, and Investor talks, Public Private Partnership, Government Keynotes, Regional Focus Discussions, Countries Focus Briefings, and Industrialize Africa tracks, among others.
“ATIGS 2018 is designed to contribute to AGOA, Trade Africa, World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), SDGs Agenda 2030 and AU Agenda 2063 by playing an important contribution in enabling companies all around the world and global investors to access African markets as a one-stop shop facilitating international trade and investment partners to support all internationally agreed sustainable development goals and objectives” said Bako Ambianda, director GAA Exhibitions & Conferences.
ATIGS 2018, will bring together new and established partners from around the world under one roof in to increase business ties and partnerships, highlight and showcase trade and investment opportunities across Africa and enable companies from around the world to expand or establish operations in Africa.
Policy makers, farmers, gather for agric symposium
Policymakers, experts, farmers and others will yesterday gather in Abuja for a national symposium on agriculture organised by Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ), and the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).
The symposium will bring together stakeholders from diverse professional agronomic background led by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, to discuss on resolving risks in the nation’s agricultural value chain.
Nigeria’s former Minister of Agriculture and current President of the African Development Bank, AFDB, Akinwumi Adesina, will be highlight speaker at the event.
Mr. Adesina recently won the 2017 World Food Prize Laureate at a ceremony at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington.
Also expected at the symposium are the Minister of Water Resources, Suleman Adamu; Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai; Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State and Governor Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos State.
The event holds at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Central Business District.
“The event is the first of its kind in Nigeria, it is a platform designed to foster productive discussion among all stakeholders ranging from farmers at the beginning of the value chain to consumers at the end of it; all geared on the road to helping Nigeria sharpen its focus on agriculture and chart a consistent forward-moving course for the sector.
“At the end of this symposium, it is aimed at having a compendium of workable, deployable strategies for transitioning the agricultural sector to the frontline of economic sustainability as Nigeria look beyond oil and gas to agriculture as a viable alternative source of revenue,” the organisers said.
