- Honourable Mia Amor Mottley, SC, MP, Prime Minister of Barbados, and Chair, Conference of Heads of Government, Caribbean Community (CARICOM);
- Honourable Dickon Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada;
- His Excellency Professor Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Afreximbank;
- Distinguished Guests;
- Ladies and Gentlemen.
Today’s Groundbreaking Ceremony marks the establishment of a tangible expression of the new chapter in CARICOM-Africa relations. I thank the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) for the invitation to be part of this historic event and congratulate you on this development.
At the first Summit of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the African Union (AU) in 2021, Heads of State and Government recalled the spirit and vision of Pan-Africanism championed by our Caribbean and African forebears. They affirmed their commitment to foster the unity and common aspirations of all people of African descent for a fairer, more inclusive global order.
The Summit recognised the need to actively pursue increased trade, investment, air travel, and maritime shipping links towards greater economic relations, and enhanced people to people contact between this Region and Africa.
To this end, the Summit mandated a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Secretariats of CARICOM and the African Union, to allow for ongoing technical dialogue and action. The MoU, which has been signed, is intended to create platforms for closer interaction and solidarity, and allow for the establishment of initiatives for coordination and joint action.
Today’s event is a prime example of cooperation in action. Afreximbank has led the charge. Its commitment, first demonstrated by the opening of the CARICOM Afreximbank office here in Bridgetown in August 2023, has affirmed President Oramah’s message that the Bank is here to stay.
Afreximbank’s ongoing outreach and engagement have resulted in most CARICOM Member States formally signing partnership agreements to solidify their relationships with the Bank. Agreements have also been signed with Regional Institutions, including recently with the CARICOM Development Fund.
Afreximbank has also demonstrated its commitment to action by hosting three Africa-Caribbean Trade and Investment Forums, the first here in Barbados in 2022, the second in Guyana in 2023, and the third in The Bahamas in 2024. The next will take place in Grenada in July 2025. These events have been catalysts for business and investment connections across Africa, the Caribbean and the wider diaspora. They have laid a foundation for people-to-people and business-to-business contact, facilitated new trade and investment initiatives, and encouraged joint ventures towards meaningful partnerships, and mutual benefits for CARICOM and Africa.
Today’s launch, and the work underway to study the feasibility of a CARICOM Eximbank, underscore the vision for development that Afreximbank has embraced in this Region.
The purposes outlined for Afreximbank’s House on Caribbean soil demonstrate that the Bank intends to be more than just a source of financing; rather, it is positioning itself as an active participant in projects that can drive growth and development, not only here in Barbados, but across the Region. The trade and exhibition center, the digital trade gateway, and the business center, can be critical launching pads to increase innovation and growth for our Region.
I congratulate and thank President Oramah for his commitment and dedication in moving the relationship between the Bank and CARICOM decisively forward. The growing relationship between Afreximbank and CARICOM is a prime example of South-South Cooperation. Nations, and groups of nations of the global south, are determined to work together directly and in their own mutual interests.
Excellencies, the Forty-Eighth Regular Meeting of Heads of Government of CARICOM held a month ago here in Barbados, welcomed the United Nation’s Declaration of a Second International Decade for People of African Descent, which is being observed from 2025 to 2034. We will continue to take advantage of opportunities for advocacy, public engagement and partnership presented by this observance, as well as by the Declaration by the African Union, of 2025 as the year for ‘‘Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations”.
CARICOM and Africa will continue to strengthen collaboration and develop solutions for shared global challenges, as we create more opportunities for dialogue and partnership, including the Second AU-CARICOM Summit to be held in Addis Ababa on 7 September 2025, which His Excellency Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, has graciously agreed to host. We can expect this Summit to further advance matters to which the Heads of Government on both sides committed at the First CARICOM-Africa Summit, to ensure closer relations and improved development for the citizens of Africa and the Caribbean Community.
Distinguished guests, today’s Groundbreaking Ceremony symbolises the immense promise of our shared future. We will continue our strategic collaboration so that the bond between the Caribbean and Africa remains vibrant, resilient, and transformative for present and future generations.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
