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8/29/24, 4:39 PM The UAE can act as a catalyst to harness the promise of Africa | The National
The UAE can act as a catalyst to harness the promise of Africa

Thani Al Zeyoudi

August 27, 2024

The town of Boundiali in the north-west of Cote d’Ivoire is a seven-hour drive from the

economic capital Abidjan. Located on a large plateau, it is surrounded by extensive plains

that are dotted with trees and farmlands, many of them given over to the region’s principal

crops of cotton, cassava and rice. This community of less than 50,000 may not, on the

surface, appear to be a natural magnet for foreign direct investment but it is the site of the

UAE’s latest contribution to West Africa’s economic development.

Last month, I joined Cote d’Ivoire’s Prime Minister Robert Beugre Mambe in Boundiali to

inaugurate a state-of-the-art cashew processing facility owned and operated by Pan

African Agro Commodities Holding Limited, an entity incorporated in Abu Dhabi Global

Market with the aim of expanding the continent’s agricultural sector. Its daily processing

capacity of 100 tonnes will increase the production of the nation’s second-most important

export product and support more than 4,000 jobs along the value chain – the vast majority

outside the main metropolis. Once fully up and running, the project will confirm the

UAE’s status as the largest external job creator in the country.

This is emblematic of the UAE’s investment strategy in Africa: from Cairo to Cape Town,

Morocco to Mozambique, we are seeking partnerships capable of fostering opportunity,

supporting diversification, increasing economic and energy independence and delivering

long-term, sustainable growth. This means enhancing the export potential of primary and

secondary industries such as agriculture, mining and manufacturing and ensuring the

development of tertiary industries such as finance, information and communications

technology, logistics and professional services. The UAE is using the longest possible lens

to see reciprocal benefits available in Africa.

The UAE is using the longest possible
lens to see reciprocal benefits available

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