The President of Guyana Mohamed Irfaan Ali has called for increased trade between Africa and the Caribbean in the coming months.
Trade between the two regions is still small. Current estimates, according to Carla Natalie Barnett, secretary general of the Caricom Secretariat, put trade at a little under US$1.5 billion.
Speaking at the Africa Prosperity Dialogues on Saturday (27 January), Irfaan Ali called for a concerted effort to remove the barriers that affect trade between the two regions.
“Less than 0.1% of Africa export was destined for Carribean countries in 2020, the share of export to Carribean trended downwards since 2015.”
“The share of export from the Carribean to Africa also displayed a similar trend since 2015, the continent also accounted for less than 1% of Carribean export. Trade between African regions is highly concentrated around primary minerals,” Ali said.
“These are things that we need to fix. The opportunities are there for a massive increase, but we have to fix the trade barriers, transport and logistics and the rules among ourselves that will stimulate trade among ourselves,” he said.
The three-day APD event ends today (27 January 2024) will propose concrete measures that will lead to Africans achieving prosperity for the African continent.
The theme of the event is “Delivering Prosperity in Africa: Produce, Add Value and Trade”.
