– talks up possible collaboration, investment opportunities
By Naomi Parris
AS the government looks to solidify partnerships with other developing counties, President Dr. Irfaan Ali has issued an invitation to investors to participate in the upcoming AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF23) which will be held in Guyana next month.
Dr, Ali, while delivering remarks at the International Forum on African Caribbean Leaders in Manhattan, New York, on Thursday, urged both leaders and investors to support the upcoming event.
“We want to showcase all the opportunities in the region. We want to bring all the major investors in the region and the major financial institutions and we want to create a network of citizens and look at specific opportunities that we can work towards” he said.
He noted that, as Guyana looks to advance its economy, the country’s success will be a shared one for the entire region.
“What we are trying to achieve in Guyana is the building of an economy that is fuelled from the revenue of oil and gas but is diversified, balanced resilient and sustainable.”
Organised under the overarching theme “Creating a Shared Prosperous Future”, and convened by Afreximbank and the GoG, ACTIF23 will focus on consolidating commercial collaboration between the Caribbean region and Africa, for increased inter-regional trade and investment; building on the successes of the inaugural edition that was held in Barbados, in September 2022.
The AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum was introduced in 2022 to enhance the growth of trade and investment between Africa and the Caribbean, including promoting airlinks, tourism, technology transfer, financial stability, food security, industrialisation and cultural ties. The inaugural event welcomed over 1,267 delegates from 108 countries, including participants from 50 African countries, 13 Caribbean countries, and regions as far away as Oceania.
There has been growing commercial co-operation between Africa and CARICOM supported by Afreximbank. Eleven CARICOM member countries are now participating States in the Bank and the Bank’s Board approved a limit of USD3 billion for Caribbean economies to enhance trade and investment opportunities between the two regions. The bank is launching its representative office in Bridgetown, Barbados; and providing technical assistance towards the establishment of the CARICOM Export-Import Bank, and the deployment of the Pan African Payment and Settlement System in the Caribbean.
ABOUT AFREXIMBANK:
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade. For 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialisation and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa.