African leaders on Wednesday laid out the continent’s vast potential and invited global investors to seize investment opportunities.

Speaking during the 2022 Africa Investment Forum Market Days being held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire’s economic capital, the leaders vowed to continue working to strengthen the economic resilience of their countries against external shocks.

The three-day forum has drawn project sponsors, investors, and heads of state from around the world to participate in boardroom sessions that could lead to transactions worth billions of dollars. 

President of Cote d’Ivoire Alassane Ouattara expressed the hope that Market Days 2022 would break the $100 billion threshold in investment interest. Vice President Tiemoko Meyliet Koné delivered his remarks.

Ouattara acknowledged the wave of threats African countries continue to face, including the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the impacts of climate change. The Market Days 2022 theme, Building Economic Resilience Through Sustainable Investments, reflects these realities.

‘Immediately following the challenges of the pandemic, African countries are once again facing external shocks because of the war in Ukraine, with heavy economic, financial and social consequences,’ Ouattara said.

The current crisis makes us even more vulnerable to food insecurity, Ouattara said. ‘This is paradoxical for a continent that has 60% of the world’s arable land and abundant and youthful…