H.E. President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo conferred one of the country’s most prestigious national honours, the Officer of the Congolese Order of Merit, on Prof. Benedict Okey Oramah, President & Chairman of the Board of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), and Dr. George Elombi, the Executive Vice President, Governance, Legal and Corporate Services.
Conferring the honours in his capacity as Grand Master of the National Orders at the decoration ceremony, President Nguesso told the audience that President Oramah and Dr. Elombi were being honoured for services rendered to the Congolese nation.
The ceremony featured the reading of the decree of appointment by President Nguesso followed by the official presentation of the decoration medals to Prof. Oramah and Dr. Elombi.
Witnessing the ceremony were Mr. Bruno Jean Richard Itoua, the Congolese Minister for Oil & Gas, and Mr. Ludovic Ngasé, Minister for Budget, Public Accounts and Public Portfolio.
Afreximbank has been an active supporter of the development of the Congolese economy and has disbursed an aggregate of US$1.4 billion to entities operating in the finance, oil and gas and the medical services sectors.
Recently, the Bank also signed an agreement to provide a US$300 million facility to Trident OGX Congo in a transaction expected to raise the Republic of Congo’s crude oil production by an estimated 30 per cent.