Global environment creates opportunity for CARICOM, Africa to achieve common goals – CARICOM SG

The current global environment provides an opportunity for Africa and the Caribbean to build on shared values and interests, and forge a path towards collective action, Dr. Carla Barnett, CARICOM Secretary-General said Friday.

Secretary-General Barnett was at the time addressing the 32nd Afreximbank Annual Meeting being held in Abuja, Nigeria, 25-28 June. The theme of the meeting is ‘Progressive Unity in a Fractured World: Building a Global African Coalition for Development’.

“… geopolitical and geo-economic developments require careful handling. There needs to be positive alignment between economic and political interests, and redefinition of global partnerships into mechanisms that foster inclusive growth, sustainable development, and economic and climate resilience for developing countries. Building such resilience requires that Africa, like the Caribbean, retain access to affordable, long-term, concessional financing from multilateral development institutions. The Bridgetown Initiative version 3.0 provides a common platform for joint advocacy on the reform of the multilateral financial system, whose governance model continues to mirror outdated political alliances and economic constructs.  More than anything else, this situation serves as a basis for common cause between Africa and the Caribbean,” the Secretary-General said.

While the current realignment of global geopolitical and geo-economic interests will continue to pose significant challenges, Dr. Barnett said it creates opportunities for Africa and the Caribbean to strengthen cooperation to achieve common development goals.

“As I noted during the first CARICOM-Africa Summit, hosted by Kenya and held virtually in September 2021, CARICOM is committed to strengthening this cooperation, and building a mutually beneficial and stable partnership. Opportunities exist in areas such as trade and investment promotion, development finance, climate change, reparatory justice, mass media, and increased people-to-people contact. Moreover, a strong and mutually beneficial partnership between Africa and the Caribbean, underscored by the principle of progressive unity, can become the springboard for broader South-South cooperation that leverages comparative advantages, thereby creating strong economic growth and development trajectories,” Dr. Barnett said.

Please read the Secretary-General’s remarks below:

Ladies and gentlemen:

I am pleased to join you today for your 32^nd Annual Meeting and to reflect on the theme,“Progressive Unity in a Fractured World: Building a Global African Coalition for Development”.

Thank you for the courtesies which have been extended to my delegation since our arrival.

The Globalisation phenomenon in the twenty-first century was expected to enhance North-South relations and the interdependence of people worldwide. It was also anticipated that it would bring prosperity in the developing world, through increased efficiency of industries and competitiveness to drive growth and development. Instead, the world has devolved into what the World Economic Forum in its Global Risks Report 2025 has described as an “increasingly fractured global landscape, with escalating geopolitical, environmental, societal, and technological challenges”. 

Amidst these challenges, Africa, with a significant demographic advantage,^[1] natural resource base, untapped carbon markets and renewable energy, remains poised to become the next frontier of global economic growth. 

However, to realise this potential, Africa will not only need to harness its diversity, but also leverage its strategic assets to mitigate some of the geopolitical and geo-economic risks emanating from an increasingly polarised global environment.  In this regard, the concept of “progressive unity”, characterised by prioritising shared values, collective vision, dialogue, and collaborative action, must become the guiding principle for Africa’s interactions on the global stage.  Such interactions will require bold strategic choices rooted in African agency,^[2] innovative policies and strong global partnerships.

In this fractured environment, this is an opportunity for Africa, and the Caribbean, which is the home of a large contingent of the African diaspora – the Sixth Region – to build common cause on shared values and interests, and forge a path towards mutually beneficial collective action. 

The divisions created during the period of European colonisation of Africa and the Caribbean would remain, and even become further entrenched, without a focused intent on breaking down the barriers among us.

Both Regions have already started this journey to embrace a collective vision and to create a new model of collaboration in our mutual interests.

Like the Caribbean, Africa’s well-being is inextricably linked to global prosperity.  However, amidst trade tensions triggered by a rise in protectionist measures and growing policy uncertainty, global economic growth is now projected to slow down^[3]in 2025, and to remain tepid in the short-to-medium-term. This has caused a significant downward revision in the growth outlook for almost all countries, including in Africa and in the Caribbean, thereby making progress on key development goals more difficult.

More particularly, this prediction for global prosperity is accompanied by multiple shocks such as a downturn in global demand, lower prices for some key commodities, higher global borrowing costs, and constraints on external funding. These have serious implications for the growth and development trajectory of developing countries. Of grave concern is the breakdown of the rules-based international trading system, the disruption in trade and investment flows, and the increased decoupling of traditional trading partners from the current providers of development support. Developing countries, like those in Africa and the Caribbean, are the hardest hit, as heightened geopolitical tensions and reduced trade lead to a fall in foreign direct investment and the knowledge spillovers that are so critical to driving inclusive growth and sustainable development.

These geopolitical and geo-economic developments require careful handling. There needs to be positive alignment between economic and political interests, and redefinition of global partnerships into mechanisms that foster inclusive growth, sustainable development, and economic and climate resilience for developing countries.  Building such resilience requires that Africa, like the Caribbean, retain access to affordable, long-term, concessional financing from multilateral development institutions. The Bridgetown Initiative version 3.0 provides a common platform for joint advocacy on the reform of the multilateral financial system, whose governance model continues to mirror outdated political alliances and economic constructs.  More than anything else, this situation serves as a basis for common cause between Africa and the Caribbean.

A projected image of the CARICOM SEcretary-General addressing the 32nd Afreximbank Annual Meeting

While the current realignment of global geopolitical and geo-economic interests will continue to pose significant challenges, it creates opportunities for Africa and the Caribbean to strengthen cooperation to achieve common development goals.  As I noted during the first CARICOM-Africa Summit, hosted by Kenya and held virtually in September 2021, CARICOM is committed to strengthening this cooperation, and building a mutually beneficial and stable partnership. Opportunities exist in areas such as trade and investment promotion, development finance, climate change, reparatory justice, mass media, and increased people to people contact. Moreover, a strong and mutually beneficial partnership between Africa and the Caribbean, underscored by the principle of progressive unity, can become the springboard for broader South-South cooperation that leverages comparative advantages, thereby creating strong economic growth and development trajectories. We look forward to exploring these possibilities during the Second CARICOM-Africa Summit to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on CARICOM-Africa Day on September 7 this year.

The foundations of African agency and the building of successful strategic partnerships have already been laid with the admission of the African Union (AU) as a permanent member of the G-20.  This gives Africa an active voice on key global economic issues. The establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the world’s largest free trade area, that is intended to create a single market for goods and services on the continent, is a major step towards,among other things, reducing intra-African trade barriers and developing African value chains and economic prosperity.

This institutional platform, along with mutually beneficial partnerships and alliances, will advance the ecosystem for building a Global African Coalition for Development, including the Caribbean.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

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[1] Africa has a relatively young, growing population compared with the status quo in the advanced countries and by 2030, one-fifth of the world’s population will live in Africa.

[2] Africa’s ability to negotiate and bargain with external actors in a manner that is beneficial to Africans.

[3] Global economic growth now downgraded to 2.3 percent in 2025 almost half a percentage point below the January 2025 projection