The Afri-Caribbean Trade and Investment Forum, conducted in September in Barbados, marked an unprecedented event in Africa-Caribbean dynamics.
This momentous summit, organized by Afreximbank, successfully revived the long-standing connections between Africa and the Caribbean. This plays a crucial role in the African diaspora, often deemed as the continent’s ‘sixth region’ by the African Union.
Africa constitutes merely 4.4 per cent of the annual $18.8bn worth of goods exported from the Caribbean, while only contributing about $603m of the $33bn imported into the region. Observers postulate that trade between these two regions could see an exponential increase to as much as $11bn annually.
According to an article by African Business, the forum yielded significant outcomes – collaborators committed to enacting a strategic partnership to enhance bilateral cooperation in various sectors, including trade, investment, technological transfer, innovation, transport, tourism, culture, and other services.
A strategic partnership
The article highlighted that a noteworthy development was the Partnership Agreement signed between the Afreximbank and an initial seven of the 15 Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries – Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname.
From the get-go, Afreximbank asserted that the forum would serve as a platform to usher in a fresh chapter of economic relations. During the pandemic, the bank had already strengthened its bond with the Caribbean by facilitating the African Medical Supplies Platform, which procured personal protective equipment, testing kits, and other essentials required by African and Caribbean nations.
Following the forum, Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, has been unwavering in his pursuit of deepening these relations with Caribbean partners further.
At the 44th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in Nassau, The Bahamas, in February, Oramah expressed a sentiment of optimism about the ability of Africans to leverage the global capitalist economy that was originally built upon their suffering.
In less than half a year since the Partnership Agreement’s inception, Afreximbank initiated plans to establish a Caribbean Regional Office, intending to spearhead its initiatives across the CARICOM States.
The bank also obtained approval from its Board of Directors for a financial limit of $1.5bn for current signatories of the Participation Agreement, with prospects of this limit reaching $3bn when all CARICOM nations join.
More on Afri-Caribbean relations
- Post AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum collaborations start
- PM Holness encourages deepening of tourism and trade links between Caribbean and Africa
- Mia Mottley says political will needed to establish air links between Africa and Caribbean
The Afreximbank-CARICOM agreement: A leap forward
By April, Afreximbank affirmed that 11 out of the 15 CARICOM Member States had ratified the Agreement. This Agreement bestows upon the signatories a status comparable to Africa Participating States, reinforcing the bank’s commitment to bolster South-South trade.
That same month, Afreximbank confirmed its Board of Directors’ approval to establish the bank’s CARICOM Office in Barbados, a step that Oramah deemed crucial.
He acknowledged the immense potential for escalating trade and investment flows between Africa and the broader African diaspora, underscoring the almost negligible investment flows between Africa and the Caribbean.
