8th September 2021

Caribbean outlines proposals for closer collaboration with Africa

By CMC

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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) — The first ever African-Caribbean Community (Caricom) summit got underway virtually on Tuesday with the 15-member regional integration grouping outlining proposals for closer collaboration between the two regions.

The summit is being held under the theme “Unity Across Continents and Oceans: Opportunities for Deepening Integration”.

Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne, who is also the Caricom chairman, told the summit it was important to establish structures of cooperation to promote their mutual socio-economic interests; increasing investment and trade, and people to people exchanges between Africa and the Caribbean.

“We should resist being pushed to the margins of international decision-making and collaborate on decisions to restructure the global financial architecture, on global taxation, derisking, climate change and reparations, among others.”

Browne said that the success with the African Union's Medical Supplies platform (AMSP), which provided life-saving vaccines to the Caribbean people has shown that we have the capacity to cooperate and collaborate.

“Colleagues, we have it within our power to demand change in the international system and to fight for it, and to make it happen. But only if we act harmoniously.”

Browne said that between the nations of the African Union and Caricom, “we are a population of approximately 1.4 billion people, with great natural and wealth-creating resources including oil, gas, agriculture, minerals, forestry, tourism, fisheries and much more.

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