Export-Import Bank of the United States Chair Reta Jo Lewis Hosts Delegations from Guyana, Ghana, Iraq and Poland
WASHINGTON – President and Chair of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) Reta Jo Lewis yesterday hosted several delegations from Guyana, Iraq, Ghana, and Poland as the Bank continues to enhance its outreach and collaboration efforts. The delegation meetings coincided with the official launch of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Build Back Better World (B3W) partnership, President Biden’s cornerstone initiative to promote infrastructure development in low- and middle-income countries.
“It is a new day at the Export-Import Bank of the United States and I am pleased to welcome delegations to EXIM headquarters to talk about EXIM financing,” said Chair Lewis. “Yesterday’s discussions were productive, and I shared information about the B3W partnership and ways that EXIM can help further President Biden’s whole-of-government approach to supporting investment in global infrastructure development.”
In the first meeting of the day, Chair Lewis met with Guyana’s Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni K. Singh, to discuss the B3W initiative and the growing need for private sector solutions to meet the central challenges of the 21st century in Guyana. Additionally, the discussion included possible collaboration on clean and renewable energy projects and the ways EXIM’s China and Transformational Exports program creates new flexibilities to support U.S. exporters.
Chair Lewis then met with Dr. Salem Chalabi, President of the Trade Bank of Iraq and Mr. Khalid S. Murad, Iraq’s Director General of Public Debt. The group met to discuss and provide updates on potential and existing projects that, because of the ongoing memorandum of understanding between the two economies, underscore EXIM’s commitment to commercial diplomacy.
Chair Lewis’ meeting with Ghana’s Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, was a reaffirmation of EXIM’s commitment to expanding and enhancing U.S.-Africa relations. The two countries have decades of experience working together and the day’s discussion focused on finding unique projects that will have a lasting impact. Chair Lewis also reiterated EXIM and the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to strengthening the partnerships with sub-Saharan Africa.
In the final meeting of the day, Chair Lewis met with President of the Polish Development Bank (BGK), Beata Daszyńska-Muzyczka, and other members of the Three Seas Fund, Paweł Nierada, First Vice President of the Management Board, BGK, and Member of the Supervisory Board of the Three Seas Fund, and Piotr Karnkowski, Managing Director of BGK and Chairman of the Management Board of the Three Seas Fund.
This initiative brings together European Union countries among the Baltic, Black and Adriatic seas. During the meeting, Chair Lewis confirmed EXIM’s commitment to enhancing economic cooperation between BGK and EXIM and continued support of the Three Seas Initiative. The discussion focused on furthering economic collaboration between the groups and identifying business development opportunities in key export sectors.
ABOUT EXIM:
The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) is the nation’s official export credit agency with the mission of supporting American jobs by facilitating U.S. exports. To advance American competitiveness and assist U.S. businesses as they compete for global sales, EXIM offers financing including export credit insurance, working capital guarantees, loan guarantees, and direct loans. As an independent federal agency, EXIM contributes to U.S. economic growth by supporting tens of thousands of jobs in exporting businesses and their supply chains across the United States. Since 1992, EXIM has generated more than $9 billion for the U.S. Treasury for repayment of U.S. debt. Learn more at www.exim.gov.
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