Chairman and President of the African Export Import Bank, Prof. Benedict Oramah believes a firm conviction exists that has determined the action that can grant Caribbean region and Africa, the economic emancipation they deserve.

Speaking at the opening of the Afri-Caribbean Forum this morning, Prof. Oramah celebrated the unity of the two region, reminding that in just under a year, 11 of the 15 CARICOM Member States have signed the Partnership Treaty and African Export Import Bank has opened a Caribbean Office in Barbados.

The Chairman of the Bank emphasised that the achievements represent the beginning of an even greater journey ahead.

“As we look ahead…In a de-globalising world, small open economies will suffer if they don’t bind together, and there can be no better binding than that of brothers and sisters, as represented by AfriCaribbean trade and investment integration’, he said.

Since the inaugural Afri-Caribbean Forum in Barbados in September 2022, the Caribbean Development Fund has become Afreximbank’s first CARICOM shareholder, and Afreximbank has implemented or progressed a range of initiatives to further AfriCaribbean linkages:

Afreximbank has approved a facility of US$1.5 billion for CARICOM states, which will increase to US$3 billion when all 15 CARICOM countries have signed the Partnership treaty.

The Bank’s five trade and investment missions to CARICOM have resulted in pipeline deals totaling US$2 billion, under which critical transactions have been approved or are at final approval committee level. These include SME support and development in The Bahamas, tourism revitalisation support in Barbados, tourism projects in Grenada, renewable energy projects and trade finance in Saint Kitts and Nevis, and climate adaptation interventions in Saint Lucia.

Afreximbank’s investment promotion drive has attracted well advanced African investment interest in the Caribbean’s financial sector, fisheries, industrial parks, ports, renewable energy and tourism. Some of these deals will be signed at ACTIF 2023, and this will include the Bank’s impact investment subsidiary, the Fund for Export Development in Africa’s signing of a Framework Agreement with Access Bank Group, Nigeria, to jointly invest in the financial services sector across the Caribbean.

The Bank will be running a pilot programme for the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) for CARICOM Central Banks as the payment infrastructure for CARICOM; and before the end of 2024, Afreximbank will start developing the Africa Trade Centre in Barbados as the permanent location for its Caribbean office, in addition to a hotel, trade information, conferencing and exhibition facilities.

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