“We meet amidst heightened global geopolitical and economic tensions, supply chain disruptions, and the questioning by some of the value of the multilateral system,” Barnett told the opening ceremony of the two-day AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF2025) that is being held under the theme “Resilience and Transformation: Enhancing Africa-Caribbean Economic Cooperation in an Era of Global Uncertainty”.
Barnett told her audience that last month, she participated in the 32nd annual meetings of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in Nigeria, where the Barbados-based CARICOM Development Fund (CDF) and Afreximbank signed a Mandate Letter to commence work to design and launch a Green, Resilient and Sustainable Facility (GRSF).
“I emphasised the need for this type of global partnership to develop mechanisms that foster inclusive growth, sustainable development, and economic and climate resilience. Here, today, I re-emphasise this approach of building partnerships here.”
She said that the ATIF2025 is also taking place as preparations continue for the second CARICOM-Africa Summit, scheduled for Sept. 7 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
She said that this summit will be an opportunity to deepen the partnership through high-level political engagement on advancing inter-regional trade and investment, strengthening South-South Cooperation, and operationalising the Memorandum of Understanding signed last year between the CARICOM and the African Union Commission on “Upscaling Engagement and Linkages with People of African Descent”.
”We need to bring focused intent on making our partnerships inclusive and for our people to connect or re-connect for partnerships to thrive. CARICOM remains committed to work side by side with the African Union to ensure that the partnerships are broad-based and include specifically young people and women.
”Our collaboration extends to advocating for reparatory justice for the transatlantic slave trade and chattel slavery. During the Second International Decade for People of African Descent, our joint efforts are vital to ensuring global recognition and action on this historical imperative. In this context, the designation of the African Diaspora, of which the Caribbean is a part, as the Sixth Region of the African Union provides an appropriate context to act in concert towards our collective advancement.”
Barnett said that the forum here has been nurturing investments and bilateral cooperation in many priority areas for both regions, such as the development of transportation links critical for trade, tourism and cultural exchanges.
She said another priority area is technology transfer, a key example being the development of a Caribbean Payment and Settlement System based on the successful Pan-African Payment and Settlement System.
She told the audience that the forum is becoming a foundation “on which we can and will strengthen trade and investment cooperation, and engagements in priority areas for both the Caribbean region and the African continent, moving from policy discussions to action.
“ We know we have common legacy challenges that persist in the current global distribution systems and logistics. Our external trade far exceeds our intra-regional trade. Our similar efforts at regional integration, the development of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy and the African Continental Free Trade Area seek to address this.
”We must also decisively open the door to greater trade between our Regions. CARICOM trade with the Continent must grow beyond the current levels of less than 3% of our overall trade, particularly with the uncertainty that currently looms over trade with traditional partners.”
She said to ensure consistent and collaborative outcomes, steps are being taken to conclude a Memorandum of Understanding between CARICOM and Afreximbank, “so that together we can drive the partnership in particular areas such as trade, logistics and connectivity to increase economic, financial and trade linkages, while bringing our two regions together in mutually reinforcing ways”.