Incoming Caricom Chair calls for “Atlantic Bridge” of hope at Africa Summit

The Incoming Chairman of CARICOM, Hon. Dr. Terrance Drew, Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis, has called for a bold, action-driven partnership between CARICOM and Africa, urging leaders to turn historical tragedy into a platform for progress and shared prosperity.
“What was once a devastating tragedy for our people – the Atlantic Slave Trade – should now be translated into the Atlantic Bridge, a bridge of hope, a bridge of advancement, a bridge that will ensure that our people take their rightful place in this world,” Prime Minister Drew said at the opening of the Second CARICOM-Africa Summit, held at the Nelson Mandela Hall of the African Union Commission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
This summit marks the first in-person meeting of CARICOM and African Heads of State since the inaugural virtual summit in 2021. Prime Minister Drew described the gathering as a pivotal moment “to reinforce historical bonds and explore deeper strategic partnerships,” while advancing South-South cooperation and amplifying a unified voice on global platforms on issues including peace, security, climate change, and multilateral reform.
The summit also provides a forum to advance the 2024 AU-CARICOM Memorandum of Understanding on Upscaling Engagement and Linkages with People of African Descent, with a focus on “strengthening interregional economic partnerships and enhancing people-to-people ties,” the Incoming chair emphasised.
Prime Minister Drew underscored the urgency of action across shared priorities such as “reparations, global financial reform, climate action, education, health, trade, and cultural exchange,” while commending Afreximbank and its leadership. “Commendations are due to Afreximbank and numerous African leaders who, through concrete initiatives, are encouraging trade, investment, cultural and sporting exchange, and other forms of collaboration between CARICOM and Africa. And I dare say, it has begun,” he said.
Highlighting the need for improved infrastructure, he added: “We need increased transportation linkages to reinforce our bonds as our peoples should travel freely and unabated to Africa and CARICOM. We need increased trade and investment, building on the experience, potential, and amplification of the cultural, historical and economic linkages between our Regions.”
Prime Minister Drew also paid tribute to the host nation and other African leaders, thanking Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for the “excellent arrangements and hospitality,” and acknowledging Angolan President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço for supporting the engagement.

He framed the summit as an opportunity to reshape historical outcomes, saying: “We have the opportunity to rewrite historical outcomes and to be champions of our own destiny. CARICOM remains committed to the CARICOM-AU partnership on this fifth anniversary of Africa-CARICOM Day, as we celebrate the enduring kinship and deepening partnership between our people, between the Caribbean Community and Africa. Let this celebration be a demonstration of this new relationship that we are forging.”
The summit represents a renewed effort to translate centuries of shared history into concrete cooperation, emphasising economic collaboration, cultural exchange, and mutual advancement for both CARICOM and African nations.