CAPE TOWN - Equatorial Guinea’s ministry of mines and hydrocarbons (MMH) has decided to postpone the Africa Oil & Investment Forum (AOIF) and Exhibition as the country turns its focus to the ongoing global outbreak of COVID-19 .
The conference was planned to take place on June 1. It will now be merged with the Africa Economic Forum, set to take place in Malabo on November 25 to 26.
This would lead to Equatorial Guinea’s "Year of Investment" adopting a new outreach strategy, according to the African Energy Chamber.
The move is part of a revised strategy that will allow the country to maintain the pace of its engagement with global investors under its "Year of Investment" while accommodating ongoing travel restrictions due to the coronavirus.
“The investment outreach of Equatorial Guinea remains in full swing, but we understand that the coronavirus outbreak comes with increasing travel restrictions. As a result, we will continue our negotiations with investors under a more targeted approach and keep the number of conferences in Malabo to a minimum,” said Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, mines and hydrocarbons minister.
“We are making tremendous progress on several projects being promoted under the Year of Investment, whose final investment decisions and ground-breaking ceremonies will all be announced at the end of the year,” he added.
The latest situational update from the World Health Organisation, dated Thursday, reported there were 95,333 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 80,565 of them in China. Some 14,768 cases have been confirmed in 85 other countries. The death toll stands at 3,015 in China and 267 elsewhere.
The first confirmed case of the disease in South Africa was announced on Thursday.