PRESS RELEASE : Postponement of the UK-African Investment Summit [January 2024]
The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 31 January 2024.
The UK-African Investment Summit, which was due to take place in April 2024, is postponed to a later date.
The UK-African Investment Summit (UK-AIS) due to take place in April 2024 will now be postponed to a later date. New summit dates will be announced in due course.
The UK government is committed to building on the success of the 2020 UK-Africa Investment Summit, which laid the foundations for new partnerships between the UK and African nations based on trade, investment, shared values and mutual interest. This includes by ensuring attendance from governments across the continent, as well as British and African businesses eager to harness the benefits of our trading relationship.
The next UK-AIS will help to realise the UK’s ambition to be the investment partner of choice for Africa, create thousands of jobs and ensure the mutual prosperity of all our nations.
Forming part of the UK’s sustained offer to African countries, the summit aims to:
- strengthen UK-African partnerships to create jobs and growth
- support British and African talent in sectors such as finance and technology
- promote female entrepreneurs
Ahead of the summit, the UK is working to enhance trade and investment links with African countries through:
- supporting the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which offers the prospect of growth through improved intra-African trade and investment opportunities
- the UK’s Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS), which entered into force in June 2023 and has increased UK market access for 37 African countries
- supporting British International Investment (BII), which has more than half of its portfolio in Africa, where it committed nearly £700 million of investment in 2022
