SHARM EL-SHEIKH, EGYPT – The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) President and Chair Reta Jo Lewis concluded a successful two-week engagement in Africa in fulfillment of EXIM's congressional mandate to increase support to sub-Saharan Africa. The first EXIM Chair to visit Africa in many years, Chair Lewis touted a new era of U.S.-Africa relations as she met with leaders in Côte d'Ivoire, Rwanda, and Egypt.

In Egypt, Chair Lewis attended the 27th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh. At the conference, Chair Lewis presented two letters of interest in support of U.S exports for the Cernovoda nuclear power project in Romania alongside U.S. State Department Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and Assistant Secretary of State Geoffrey Pyatt to Romanian President Klaus Iohannis and Romanian Energy Minister Virgil Popescu. Chair Lewis also announced that EXIM has provided $175 million in support for climate finance in fiscal year 2022 – its highest volume of authorizations for clean technology exports in years.
 
"EXIM is dedicated to supporting the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to providing $11.4 billion in climate finance per year," said Chair Lewis. "Since I began at EXIM, I have made climate finance a priority and am proud that we have made great strides in increasing EXIM's climate finance support while we continue to work with likeminded nations in the global effort to combat climate change."

In Kigali, Rwanda, Chair Lewis addressed the Annual General Meeting of the Berne Union, a conference of global export credit agency (ECA) heads, where she reiterated EXIM's commitment to deepening engagements in Africa by advancing partnerships and opportunities in key sectors such as renewable energy, critical minerals, technology and infrastructure, that create shared prosperity for both the U.S. and African nations.
 
While in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, Chair Lewis signed a $500 million Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at a ceremony hosted by Prime Minister Patrick Achi. The MOU is an indicator of EXIM's interest in supporting U.S. exports to Côte d'Ivoire. Chair Lewis also participated in the Africa Investment Forum, where she reaffirmed the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to enhancing partnerships in Africa by forging new alliances to catalyze business opportunities during this new era of U.S.-Africa relations.
 
Throughout her time in Africa, Chair Lewis held numerous bilateral discussions with industry stakeholders, including the American Chambers of Commerce in Abdijan, Kigali and Sharm el- Sheikh, financial institutions, private insurers and ECA heads, to advance key partnerships in critical sectors such as infrastructure, banking, technology, renewable energy, and climate finance.