By Kurt Campbell in ABUJA, Nigeria
Kurt@newsroom.gy
Standing before a packed hall at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja for the opening of the 32nd Annual Afreximbank Meetings, Saint Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew delivered a stirring call Wednesday morning for a new era of connectivity and cooperation between Africa and the Caribbean, with air transport, trade and partnership at its core.
“The Caribbean is no longer a distant observer to Africa’s renaissance. We have become an active partner,” Drew said to applause from the thousands in attendance.
In a symbolic and deeply personal address, Prime Minister Drew reflected on the journey across the Atlantic – once a corridor of bondage, now envisioned as a “new bridge made not of wood and steel, but of people, partnership and purpose.”
“There’s much work to do so that one day, air traffic from Africa to the Caribbean will be as busy as other regions,” he noted.
This year’s Afreximbank meetings brought together more than 6,000 participants with a notable and growing CARICOM contingent, including government officials, entrepreneurs and cultural ambassadors from across the region.
The Caribbean participation is no longer symbolic, but part of an accelerating strategy to integrate with Africa’s economies through Afreximbank’s growing footprint in the region.
The Bank’s only office outside Africa is located in Bridgetown, Barbados and recent ACTIF (Africa-Caribbean Trade and Investment Forum) editions have been hosted in Barbados (2022), Guyana (2023), and The Bahamas (2024)—mobilising over $6 billion in trade and investment opportunities.
Saint Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew during the opening of AAM2025 in Abuja. (Photo: Afreximbank/ July 25, 2025)
A major hurdle in Africa-Caribbean integration remains direct air connectivity. As it stands, there are no direct commercial passenger flights between Africa and the Caribbean—most travellers must transit through Europe or North America, adding time and cost.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), African aviation supports 7.7 million jobs and contributes $63 billion to GDP. Meanwhile, the Caribbean relies heavily on air transport for tourism, trade, and connectivity, yet intra-regional and inter-continental links remain weak.
“I looked out the window as I flew across the Atlantic,” Drew recounted. “No ships. No aircraft in sight. The skies were clear—but empty. That must change.”
Cultural performance during the opening of AAM2025 in Abuja. (Photo: Afreximbank/ July 25, 2025)
Efforts are now underway to develop aviation agreements and charter partnerships between African and Caribbean carriers—potentially involving airlines like Air Peace (Nigeria) and regional operators such as LIAT or InterCaribbean. A working group on aviation and logistics is expected to report progress at ACTIF 2025 in Grenada next month.
Afreximbank’s President Prof. Benedict Oramah was praised for transforming the institution from a traditional trade bank into a pan-African catalyst embracing the diaspora. He leaves after this AAM and afgter ten years at the helm of the bank’s transformation and expansion.
“This bank has not only protected our legacy—it is building the machinery of our future,” Drew said. “It has invested in Pan-Africanism—not just in words, but in systems.”
Under Oramah’s leadership, the Bank has extended services like trade financing, investment guarantees, infrastructure support, and cultural exchanges to CARICOM countries. Saint Kitts and Nevis was the first Caribbean country to sign an MoU with Afreximbank in 2022.
Twelve of the fifteen CARICOM member states have now signed the bank’s Partnership Agreement.
Drew’s address also signalled a new political horizon. As the incoming Chair of CARICOM in 2026, he announced plans to lead a mission of regional heads of government to Africa, declaring it will not be a symbolic visit, but “a declaration of intent to embed the Caribbean into the economic and developmental architecture of Global Africa.”
“Let us cross not just borders, but boundaries of imagination,” he said. “Let global Africa be not just an aspiration, but an institution.”
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