President Ali encourages more trade between African and Caribbean countries

President Irfaan Ali has made a pitch for an increase in trade between Africa and the Caribbean, explaining that opportunities exist for a massive benefits for both Africa and the Caribbean.

President Ali who was on an official visit to Ghana over the weekend noted that in order to achieve the increases, systems must be put in place “to fix the trade barriers” and issues with transport and logistics.

During the panel discussion as part of the Africa Prosperity Dialogues 2024 Summit of Heads of State and Business Leaders on Saturday, President Ali, who is also the current chair of CARICOM, was adamant that both Africa and the Caribbean can benefit from the opportunities that exist.

“There are tremendous opportunities as we seek to have the issue of food security resolved within the region. When you look at our region’s population, you may say that our population is very small, but what we give to Africa, to investors, is access to a market of over 400m people in which we have trade arrangements and trade agreements,” the President said.

Pointing specifically to aquaculture as an example, the President said that the size of the aquaculture market in the United States is US$4 Billion annually, and Guyana is among the most competitive countries when it comes to aquaculture and the production of fish products for the US market.

“You have the know-how, you have the technology, we have the land, and we have the competitive advantage. What if we merge? And for us to do this, we have to think outside of the box. We have to embrace the new opportunities. We have to look beyond the traditional areas. And, the Caribbean and Guyana present this very important opportunity for you,” the President noted.

During his presentation, the President also underscored that the Caribbean and Africa need to work together on other important issues, such as climate change and energy security.

He lauded Africa’s “fearless leadership”, pointing to South Africa as an example.

“One of the things I want to recognise is that Africa has been a place of fearless leadership, and recently, South Africa reminded us that Africa remains a place where fearless leaders exist, always standing up on the right side of things and on the right side of humanity,” the President noted.