The first-ever AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF2022) opened today in Bridgetown, Barbados, with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) announcing that it would work with governments of the CARICOM to set up a Caribbean Exim Bank and that it envisaged committing an investment of $700 million in the Caribbean.
Professor Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Afreximbank, told participants at the opening that there had been tremendous progress in accelerating the membership of CARICOM nations in Afreximbank and that signature of a participant agreement would enable Afreximbank to operate in the Caricom region and deliver concretely on the new vision.
“Once these arrangements are concluded and visible, we will also open an office here in the Caribbean. And if we do agree, the Bank will work with governments of the CARICOM to set up a Caribbean Exim Bank as an Afreximbank subsidiary or affiliate,” he said, adding that Afreximbank “envisages committing an investment of US$700 million in the Caribbean as soon as a regional office is opened.”
“We stand at the cusp of history to open a well of opportunities for Africa and the Caribbean and to leverage our individual and collective strengths towards the attainment of our shared prosperity,” Professor Oramah said. “The vision is clear. However, we must therefore be focused while recognising that there are so many hurdles to cross.”
ACTIF2022 has been structured to provide an important opportunity to bolster bilateral cooperation and to enable the Caribbean and African business communities to establish new commercial and strategic relationships to expand trade and to source necessary inputs for the design and manufacture of high-value products between the two regions. It will also enhance Government-Business relationships between Africa and the Caribbean and increase inter-regional trade and investment leads through effective business matchmaking.
