Enhancing African and Caribbean Trade Relations for Mutual Growth: Insights from Afreximbank's COO

If the Caribbean and Africa put the same kind of effort into expanding trade as they did in cooperating to secure vaccines during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, more African and Caribbean products would be exchanged across the Atlantic and on both regions’ supermarket shelves.

Okechukwu Ihejirika, the acting chief operating officer of the Africa Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) CARICOM office in Barbados, is not only convinced of that, but he is confident that when the 31st Afreximbank Annual Meetings (AAM) and the third edition of the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF2024) take place in the Bahamas this week, solutions will be found to the challenges that prevent the expansion of trade.

In an interview with Barbados TODAY ahead of the joint event which begins on Wednesday, Ihejirika was passionate about his vision for enhanced trade between the two regions. Asked why he believed this had not become a reality, he first referred to Africa and the Caribbean overcoming logistical challenges to ensure citizens got much-needed vaccines in 2021.

“Both regions saw challenges with their existing trading partners and they made a decision to come together for the purchase of vaccines and they worked excellently we, l because Afreximbank put down US$2 billion [$4 billion] guarantee to facilitate the purchase of the vaccines in time and at the right quantity to countries within Africa and the Caribbean,” he said, referring to the bank’s facility that allowed allowed the historic agreement for the purchase of 220 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson single-shot COVID-19 vaccine, some of which were delivered to the Caribbean.

“If we are all within the same era of self-determination and have a common problem, if we are able to create that trade corridor [among] ourselves, definitely what that means also is that we can take it to any level that we want.

“Why I think these things have not thrived is that nobody has been talking about it. But I think [the cooperation during COVID-19] shows that indeed this trade can blossom if we give it a right push, if we give it the right level of attention.”

Ihejirika said he anticipates that the needed discussion will be held and concrete measures agreed on at the AAM – being held for the first time in the Caribbean – and ACTIF2024.

“[There will be] three days of engagement, three days of deal-making, three days of enhanced business discussion, three days of significant review of what has constituted the biggest challenges to the growth of trade across the two regions. It will not just be to talk about them as a talk show. We will be going back home with tangible results and decisions.

“We want to see signing of deals between African and Caribbean entities…. I want to see the introduction of African products into the Caribbean and Caribbean products into Africa…. I want to see discussion and agreements on the effort being made to smoothing things out from a logistic perspective,” he added.

Ihejirika contended that with the movers and shakers on both the policy-making and business sides confirmed for the events, there is no reason solutions and solid plans cannot be the outcome of this year’s AAM and ACTIF.

Approximately 25 current and former leaders – including Prime Minister Mia Mottley –, ministers, and captains of industry from both regions are due in Nassau for the June 12-15 events.

“I believe tangible decisions can actually be made when some of the problems are brought to the fore,” Ihejirika said.

Last year’s ACTIF attracted more than 5 000 participants, many of them from the Caribbean. Ihejirika stressed the value of the meetings, pointing to the potential in particular for smaller businesses that might not otherwise have the opportunity to discuss and negotiate several investments and deals.

“You have [the] opportunity of interacting with multiple entities from multiple countries that you would have had to make multiple trips if you had to physically visit Africa, so it brings on board quite a lot of value and it’s something that all of us can effectively take advantage of,” he said.

The AAM’s deliberations will focus on the theme of Owning Our Destiny: Economic Prosperity on the Platform of Global Africa.

dawneparris@barbadostoday.bb