Readout from Chairman Kimberly Reed's Meeting with Ghana Minister of Finance Kenneth Ofori-Atta
WASHINGTON - Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) President and Chairman Kimberly A. Reed today met via teleconference with Ghana Minister of Finance Kenneth Ofori-Atta. Chairman Reed and Minister Ofori-Atta discussed the important bilateral relationship between the United States and Ghana. They also focused on two potential EXIM water treatment and infrastructure transactions that were preliminarily approved by the EXIM Board of Directors in November 2020.
EXIM Chairman Reed and Ghana Minister of Finance Kenneth Ofori-Atta
During their call, Chairman Reed and Minister Ofori-Atta also discussed EXIM's new Program on China and Transformational Exports, which directs EXIM to provide financial products to directly neutralize export subsidies offered by the People's Republic of China, helping to ensure a level playing field for U.S. businesses and workers as they compete globally.
On November 5, 2020, EXIM's Board of Directors unanimously voted to notify the U.S. Congress, pursuant to the law, of two potential authorizations totaling $229.7 million to support an estimated 600 American jobs, primarily in Texas, by rehabilitating, designing, and constructing water treatment facilities in Ghana.
The first potential authorization would be a direct loan to Ghana's Ministry of Finance to support an important dam rehabilitation project for Ghana water. The existing facility accounts for about 80 percent of the potable water supply to the capital city of Accra. The loan would allow Ghana to engage the world-class design services of AGEISS, Inc. EXIM estimates the transaction would support 300 U.S. jobs across several states, including Texas.
The second potential authorization would be a direct loan to Ghana's Ministry of Finance to design and construct a water treatment plant. If ultimately approved, the loan would support AGEISS' engagement in a water supply expansion project, which would increase the supply of potable water to Begoro and surrounding towns. EXIM estimates the transaction would support 300 U.S. jobs across several states, including Texas.
In December, Chairman Reed also met via teleconference with U.S. Ambassador to Ghana Stephanie S. Sullivan regarding EXIM's role in supporting U.S. exports to Ghana and throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
ABOUT EXIM:
EXIM is an independent federal agency that promotes and supports American jobs by providing competitive and necessary export credit to support sales of U.S. goods and services to international buyers. A robust EXIM can level the global playing field for U.S. exporters when they compete against foreign companies that receive support from their governments. EXIM also contributes to U.S. economic growth by helping to create and sustain hundreds of thousands of jobs in exporting businesses and their supply chains across the United States. In recent years, approximately 90 percent of the total number of the agency's authorizations has directly supported small businesses. Since 1992, EXIM has generated more than $9 billion for the U.S. Treasury for repayment of U.S. debt.
For more information about EXIM, please visit www.exim.gov.
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