Prime Minister Gaston Browne urged participants at this week’s Afri-Caribbean Trade and Investment Forum in Grenada not to make the annual meeting of African and Caribbean leaders become another ‘talk-shop’.
In his contribution to a panel discussion on the future of African-Caribbean relations, PM Browne noted that the process would require action from all parties involved.
“We cannot allow this initiative to die or to become another talk-shop. The proposal to establish a commission is in my view, an excellent idea and we should establish this commission as soon as possible. However, the commission should not be limited to technocrats and bureaucrats as I believe that there should be some political direction to make sure that we can get quick action to achieve some of the ‘low hanging fruits’ so that we can achieve this integration between Africa and the Caribbean,” he stated.
According to the prime minister it is well-known what the problems are; these include the absence of infrastructure to move people and to move goods between both points, noting that he believes that the wherewithal to achieve these ambitions currently exists.
“I believe we can have a strong partnership between the public and private sectors where we can utilize not only the ideas but also the funding to create sustaining air and sea links between Africa and the Caribbean,” he noted.
PM Browne observed that if the challenge of moving people and goods remains unresolved, then the efforts of all currently involved would be unsuccessful.
Looking ahead, the Antigua and Barbuda leader said he is looking forward to the Africa-Caribbean summit slated for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia later this year as he made the case for a ‘full commitment’ from the leaders to establish those air and sea links.
He suggested that a study should be done to determine how best to establish those air and sea links between the two regions and to seek about attracting the necessary investments. He is suggesting also that the Africa-Import-Export Bank could possible provide the ‘seed money’ for such ventures.
