Africa and the Caribbean share historical ties. The people of Caribbeans are descendants of Africa whose generations of families were historically ripped apart by the horrible slave trade that left countless lives lost and whose effects still linger. This unspeakable, painful experience is what describes the fabric that the two people have. It is the experience that the two regions should leverage to breathe a new sense of life to their future. Luckily, a new story is emerging. It is a story of hope, a story that Africans are Caribbeans and Caribbeans are Africans, they are one people, and as a result, working together towards a common vision is what will reunite them and ensure lasting prosperity. For the first time, the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) is holding its annual meetings in the Caribbean alongside the 3rd Afri-Caribbean Trade & Investment Forum, signifying the important role of working together. One way through which increased cooperation between the two regions could benefit is trade and investment. Africa and the Caribbean have an opportunity to elevate trade and investment, which currently remains negligible. The International Trade Centre (ITC) indicates that in the last decade the share of African exports to the Caribbean has been decreasing with currently less than 0.1 per cent of African exports going to the Caribbean and less than 3 per cent of Caribbean exports going to Africa. However, ITC projects that trade in goods and services between the two regions could reach $1 billion in value by 2028. There is clearly potential to trade with each other. For example, while Caribbean countries are awash with fish, Africa imports $4.5 billion of fish from the global market – with the Caribbean accounting for less than 1 per cent of this trade, according to the African Union. As Pamela Coke-Hamilton of ITC said, realising that potential will mean getting rid of trade frictions and getting more investment into the right sectors, and a free trade agreement (FTA) can be a blueprint through which this vision can be achieved. The foundation has already been set. Now let our leaders both in governments and business get down to work.
