Mottley urges CARICOM nations to join Afreximbank trade agreement

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has called on Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nations that have yet to sign a trade agreement with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to do so before the departure of the bank’s president, Benedict Oramah.

Nearly a year after Afreximbank established a CARICOM office in Barbados, four of CARICOM’s 15 member states, including Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica, have not joined the partnership.

Mottley commended Oramah for his efforts in supplying COVID-19 vaccines to the Caribbean when the region received little assistance from other sources. She acknowledged Afreximbank’s role in providing therapeutic equipment and vaccines for those who sought to procure them.

She also highlighted Oramah’s significant contribution to launching the inaugural AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) in Barbados in 2022, which has since become an annual event.

Mottley expressed her gratitude for Oramah’s impact on African and Caribbean communities and expressed hope that his successor would continue his legacy.