The second edition of the two-day AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF23) commenced last Monday in Georgetown, Guyana, as announced by African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and Government of Guyana (GoG).
What is AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment all about?
The AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum was introduced in 2022 to enhance the growth of trade and investment between Africa and the Caribbean, including promoting airlinks, tourism, technology transfer, financial stability, food security, industrialization and cultural ties.
Who are the Caribbean’s/Caribbean countries?
Caribbean countries are those located in the Caribbean Sea, a region of the Atlantic Ocean between North America and South America and east of Central America, in which many tropical island nations are positioned in close proximity. The Caribbean includes 13 countries classified as sovereign states by the United Nations, as well as nearly two dozen non-sovereign territories, World Population Review stated.
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Countries of the Caribbean Region are:
Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago.
The Caribbean region includes more than 7,000 islands, islets, and keys in total. Although the majority of these are tiny and uninhabited, most Caribbean countries are nonetheless a collection of multiple islands (a scenario also common in Oceania). For instance, the Bahamas alone are made up of more than 700 islands and 2,400 islets and keys, of which 30-40 are inhabited. The islands of the Caribbean are typically sorted into three distinct groups: The Greater Antilles, the Lucayan Archipelago, and the Lesser Antilles.
What is the level of trade between Africa and the Caribbean Countries?
The goods trade between the two regions is negligible and concentrated in just a few sectors including primary minerals and chemicals.
With the right support in place, Africa could boost its annual exports of merchandise to the Caribbean by $171 million by 2026, a 54 percent increase over 2020 levels. The Caribbean could expand goods exports to Africa by $80 million or 29 percent – and its exports of services such as travel and transport even more.
A report by The International Trade Centre (ITC) identified $1 billion in export potential between Africa and the Caribbean. ITC and the Afreximbank also extended their five-year partnership, which will help tackle trade barriers and build business capacity to realize that potential.
ITC is the joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization, fully dedicated to supporting small businesses of developing countries to trade.
What is the focus of AfriCaribbean (ACTIF23) trade and investment?
Organised under the overarching theme “Creating a Shared Prosperous Future”, and convened by Afreximbank and the Government of Guyana (GoG), ACTIF23 will focus on consolidating commercial collaboration between the Caribbean region and Africa, for increased inter-regional trade and investment; building on the successes of the inaugural edition that was held in Barbados, in September 2022.
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Comments on the hosting of ACTIF23 in Guyana
Hugh Hilton Todd, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Guyana said that “Guyana looks forward to hosting the second AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum. We are keen to actively harness the potential of our economic relations as we build on the historic ties between Africa and the Caribbean.”
Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, said, “Going by the impressive gains we have recorded in less than one year since ACTIF2022, we have every reason to look forward to a further deepening of commercial relationships between Africa and the Caribbean when we meet in Georgetown, Guyana. We are exceedingly grateful to the Government of Guyana for agreeing to host this important bridge-building Forum”.
The inaugural event welcomed over 1,267 delegates from 108 countries, including participants from 50 African countries, 13 Caribbean countries, and regions as far away as Oceania.
There has been growing commercial cooperation between Africa and CARICOM supported by Afreximbank. Eleven CARICOM member countries are now participating States in the Afreximbank and the Bank’s Board approved a limit of USD3 billion for Caribbean economies to enhance trade and investment opportunities between the two regions. The Afreximbank is launching its representative office in Bridgetown, Barbados; and providing technical assistance towards the establishment of the Caricom Export-Import Bank, and the deployment of the Pan African Payment and Settlement System in the Caribbean.
