As CARICOM Heads meet today in Trinidad and Tobago for the 45th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government, President of the African Import and Export Bank, Professor Benedict Oramah is optimistic that all countries will sign the trade agreement with the bank that would see the already assigned US$1.5B doubled if they do.
“I believe that Trinidad and Jamaica, they understand the benefits of joining its brothers and sisters in getting into this relationship. What we need to do is to extend the engagements we have had with the other countries that have signed the agreements. I am planning on doing that in the coming months. I am planning to visit Jamaica and I am planning to visit Trinidad and Tobago. But on top of that, I am aware that under the framework of the CARICOM, engagements are also ongoing with them,” the Afreximbank President told the Stabroek News in an interview on the sidelines of the bank’s recently concluded 30th anniversary conference, in Accra, Ghana. “…. That is the kind of engagement we will be having with Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. And we believe that before the end of the year, we would have everybody joined so that we can truly implement the kind of trading and investment relations we want,” he added.
The Afrexim President reasoned that the process of joining international treaties differs from country to country, and it is possibly why the other nations have not yet signed on, as they have their own internal processes to complete. “What we do with African country members, is sometimes we go and engage them and have resolved issues that is causing the delays. Sometimes, some countries would have to put it to their parliament even before that country signs. Some countries can’t sign unless they go to parliament. So things differ from country to country,” he posited. The Partnership Agreement between Afreximbank and the constituent countries of CARICOM was announced last year September, at the inaugural Africa-Caribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) held in Bridgetown, Barbados. According to the bank, the agreement establishes a framework for cooperation between Afreximbank and CARICOM to strengthen trade and investment links between Africa and CARICOM member states.
The treaty aims to facilitate cooperation and mutual support, as well as help with the promotion and financing of trade between the two regions. At the conference this year, while he discussed the US$1.5B Oramah said that when all the countries join, that amount would increase to US$3B. The financing will target supporting economic sectors identified as vital to boosting the region’s prosperity, particularly the development of trade-enabling infrastructure, as well as lifting trade and investments between Africa and the CARICOM Member States while providing support to Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s).
“A new Middle Passage is emerging; one underpinned by trade, investment, and socio-cultural exchange, correcting the ills of slavery and fragmentation. We are supporting African investors to build ports, roads and power plants in the Caribbean; we are promoting cross acquisition of banks. AFREXIM bank is proud to be home to numerous interns from the Caribbean since 2021,” President Oramah emphasized.
With a regional branch opened in Barbados, Afreximbank will also in October host a trade and investment forum in Guyana. “Eleven CARICOM States have so far joined the membership of the Bank through signatures of the Partnership Treaty. In a few weeks, we will formally launch the operations of the Bank’s Caribbean Office in Bridgetown, Barbados. We are connecting African businesses with opportunities in the Caribbean and Caribbean businesses with opportunities in Africa,” Oramah stated. “… Afreximbank has approved an amount of 1.5 billion US dollars to support CARICOM with plans to double that in the near future. We do these not because it is merely a nice thing to do but because a united Africa and the Caribbean represent a more potent force that can confront the exigencies of now and the challenges of tomorrow,” he added. He told this newspaper that his bank would have to provide the overdraft facilities for all of the central banks in CARICOM and believes that it is important that everyone in the regional body be a member.
Exclusively
“When you are talking of trade, it is particularly the type of thing that you do because you want everyone to benefit. It is not what you do exclusively. You have to trade with everybody, you can’t trade alone or with just some people…We believe that they would join after we discuss with them [Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago] and hear whatever the issues are to be resolved and resolve them,” he added. An agricultural economics specialist, Dr Oramah also pointed to the myriad benefits the monies could bring to the region, especially in meeting its food security goals and enabling trade of agricultural produce and products globally. “CARICOM is a unique group of countries here. There are some islands, due to their size, may not be able to do too much agriculture. In the midst of all the water …they have serious water issues [for farming]. You have these kinds of things among the countries but you have huge bread baskets too and Guyana is one of them.”
When he visited Guyana last year, Dr. Oramah said that President Ali took him on a helicopter ride to give him a view of the fertile lands and potential for agriculture and other development opportunities this country has.
“We flew along the road that led all the way to Northern Brazil and I stopped at one of the rivers… Guyana is an agriculturist’s paradise. It has large expanses of green land, fertile lands, water and extension from the Amazon,” he expressed. “Then you have Suriname, almost the same thing. It doesn’t necessarily mean that every country must be producing what they eat, or consume. In the context of CARICOM, in the context of a Common Market, one part of a country or some countries can produce and supply others as part of the value chain. And some processing can be done elsewhere… and so on and so forth. So I believe in CARICOM there should be no food issues because you have enough conditions; land, water etc., to be able to produce and you have that fresh water to do the agriculture,” he added. Looking at the fishing sector, he said that “it is the same thing”. This is an area he said that has not been tapped into enough as the potential for trade is immense. A number of companies in Africa, he explained, have expressed interest in the region.
“What we have done is also to bring some of the companies in Africa that are successful in agriculture and also companies that are interested in doing an agro processing park. We also brought Evergreen [Guangdong Evergreen Feed Industry Co., Ltd.] which is a leading company in fish farming and this is the one that they do with sea aquaculture …the idea is to produce what can be supplied within the region but also to export to Africa,” he explained.
“Although we have our brothers and sisters sitting on this… from the Atlantic Ocean, we only import less than one percent of our needs from there. It should be much more. I know fishing rights issues exist … [but] until we have companies that come, whether they create a system that they could produce food or fish, in a sustainable manner, and process them on land in the islands to create jobs, so that they add value and export them within their region and to Africa [we ]. That is my preference first [that they export to Africa], and then to other parts of the world maybe the US and Europe and other parts,” he added.
The Afreximbank President is of the strong view that CARICOM can easily meet its food demand, if planning and projects are coordinated efficiently. “Can CARICOM feed themselves? Absolutely! Perfectly! They have the capability. A lot can be produced there,” he emphasized.
