THE African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), has handed over a US$500 million loan proposal to the Government of Guyana. President Irfaan Ali received the proposal on Thursday during the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum in The Bahamas.

Guyana had approached the bank for support for a number of ongoing infrastructure project. The proposal by the African Export Import Bank details the level of support that could be offered and the likely contracts that would have to be put in place.

During an address to the forum, President Irfaan Ali made a call for increased partnerships between Africa and the Caribbean, saying that the two regions possess enormous potential that can shape the world conversation around a number of issues.

The President said the bank’s role in the region has been expanding to cater to needs to regional communities and that partnership he said must be expanded to involve the African region as a whole.

“Imagine if Africa can come together and mobilize capital and manufacture— we have the lowest environment impact in the world, imagine if we manufacture all the EV vehicles in the region with the lowest environmental impact what marketing impact that will have,” the President stated.

According to the President, collaboration between the Caribbean Region and African Exim bank will be good for the world, as it will not only give the region an alternative financing model, but it will increase investments by African businesses in the region.

“We are going to create new areas of wealth, and we look at the biodiversity and marine economy that exist in this region, we have to shape the conversation and that is the power we have. We have the capacity to shape the conversation. For too long the conversation has been shaped for us’” the President stated.

The President also said there are a number of areas the two regions can collaborate, including short term and long term projects.

“We have so many low hanging fruits, we have to collectively put a value on what we have and there is a lot of opportunities in so many areas— environmental services but the world has lost in the last 50 years more than 60% of its biodiversity. Collectively we have a rich opportunity with our biodiversity services let us value that services”, the President noted.

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