UAE second-largest ME investor in Africa

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UAE is the second top investing country in Africa by value of capital investment in 2016, accounting for $11 billion of capex giving it a 12 percent market share, said a media report.

UAE-led FDI rose a substantial 161 per cent from 2015, when it pumped $4.2 billion of capex into African projects, reported Emirates news agency Wam, citing a study by the UN Economic Commission for Africa, titled "Investment Policies and Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs): Implications for Regional Integration."

The report was discussed at a panel session titled "Invest in Africa" at the Annual Investment Meeting which recently concluded in Dubai and explored how regional integration could support inclusive investment reforms at national, sub-regional and continental level.

The high-level panelists included Yofi Grant, chief executive officer of Ghana Investment Promotion Centre; Stephen N Karingi, director Capacity Development Division, ‎United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA); Aisha Abubakar, Minister of Trade and Industry of Nigeria; Harouna Kabore, Minister of Trade, Industry and Crafts of Burkina Faso; Seetanah Lutchmeenaraidoo, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade of Mauritius.