Afreximbank in talks with Caricom to establish C’bean Exim Bank – Professor Oramah

– says initiative will bolster trade, investment between Caricom & African nations

The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is in talks with the Caribbean Community (Caricom) to establish, in one of its territories, a Caribbean Exim Bank with the main aim of boosting trade and investment opportunities.
This is according to Professor Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, who has said that the initiative would explore partnerships between African countries and those within Caricom. He was at the time delivering remarks at the 31st Annual Meeting (AAM) of the African Export-Import Bank and the 3rd AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF), held in The Bahamas on Thursday. Several Heads of State have been in attendance.
Oramah explained that Afreximbank already has a presence in countries such as Guyana, Barbados, Bahamas, St Lucia, and St Kitts and Nevis; however, despite its close relations, trade between Africa and the Caribbean remains exceptionally low compared to intra-regional trade in other regions. On this point, he disclosed that establishment of the Caribbean Exim Bank would allow Governments and Finance Ministers from Caricom states to communicate directly, and collaborate with Afreximbank on transformational projects in the areas of tourism and hospitality, oil and gas, goods and services, as well as transport and logistics.

“We have laid the foundation on which progress can be made. We must now pool our strengths and resources to pursue investments that will remove the wedge between Africa and the Caribbean. We must create the conditions that will support the expansion of inter-Caribbean air shipping lines and maintain incentives that will enable us to begin to fly from Africa to the Caribbean and vice versa; and also ship goods from Africa to the Caribbean,” Professor Omarah has said.
He also disclosed that the Caribbean Exim Bank has the potential to adopt the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) in Caricom Member States in order to promote African Caribbean payments; and explained that Afreximbank stands ready to work with partners to support this and similar projects as the organization accelerates efforts to serve all People of African Descent.
“We should also begin to consider initiating a free trade agreement negotiation between Africa and the Caribbean. We recognize that these will only make sense if we begin to build strong business links and promote tourism flows between our two regions,” he added.
Only last year, Guyana hosted the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF23) from October 30 to 31, 2023 in Georgetown, where President Dr. Irfaan Ali challenged the regional private sector to collaborate with their African counterparts to develop a consortium to solve some of the perennial challenges facing the region, including transportation.

President Ali emphasized to the Heads of Government and delegates in attendance that “Every single state of Caricom has made it clear that we will give all the incentives necessary to facilitate the building of a regional transport infrastructure system to solve the problem of regional transportation…All the governments in the region, we have made it clear we will support such a consortium on investment through incentives and promotion. The private sector must get up and put that consortium in place, partner with Afreximbank and end this problem,” Dr Ali had said.
His remarks had come as he noted that the south-south trade potential between Africa and the Caribbean is estimated at US$16 trillion, and there are multiple opportunities on which the countries of the region can capitalise.
The Guyanese Leader had disclosed that his Government has approached Afreximbank for a US$500 million bridge financing that can be used to fund the Administration’s massive infrastructure programme.