Afreximbank, Government of Barbados to expand Africa Diaspora trade ties

MOTOLANI OSENI

African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Government of Barbados have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand trade and investment links between Africa and the Caribbean island state.

Under the MoU, the two parties will explore opportunities for joint investment and trade finance aimed at expanding economic ties between Africa and Barbados.

The agreement will also facilitate knowledge sharing between Afeximbank and the Government of Barbados, providing businesses and investors on either side of the Atlantic with higher quality information with which to pursue trade and investment opportunities.

Director, Communication & Public Affairs Department, Bashir A. Nuhu, in a statement noted, this knowledge sharing will include collaborative use of electronic platforms for customer due diligence, payments, trade exchanges, trade information, and regulatory details. Afreximbank will also consider putting in place a financial facility in the amount of US$250 million to support trade and investment exchange.

The agreement is set to increase the flow of goods and services while enhancing connectivity between African nations and Barbados. The two parties will actively promote coordinated development and trade finance from both the public and private sectors.

Meanwhile, they will work in concert to advance air, sea, and telecommunication links, as well as cultural exchange between Africa and Barbados.

Professor Benedict Oramah, President of Afreximbank, said: “Cooperation among nations of the global south can become an engine of growth and prosperity. The economies of African nations and Barbados share a common heritage, entrepreneurial drive and opportunities.

“By coming together Afreximbank and the Government of Barbados will harness the power of trade to create new jobs, scale-up new industries, and reap the benefits of a rich exchange in goods, services, and culture between Africa and Barbados”, he said.

The Honourable Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, said: “We are committed to being able to ensure the trade of goods, the movement of people and services, and the flow of information. We believe that once trade information flows, once people, goods and services flow seamlessly, then we can reconnect and make the embodiment of CARICOM as the sixth region of the African Union real for all of us.”