Keen, it seems, to make a meaningful mark in what now appears to be an accelerating process in pursuit of the strengthening of business ties between Africa and the Caribbean, a delegation from Caribbean Export returned to the Caribbean recently, from Ghana, with three signed Memoranda, part of a hoped-for foundation that will support increased trade between the region and Ghana.
What was termed a Caribbean-West Africa Trade Mission to Ghana was undertaken in an effort to foster further collaboration with Ghana and to explore trade opportunities between Ghana and the Caribbean. Having styled itself “the regional trade and investment promotion agency,” its focus being on “building a resilient Caribbean by providing cutting-edge and high-impact support to the private sector,” the entity’s sojourn in Africa is likely to enhance its value as a key regional development organization. The MOU’s signed between Caribbean Export and various Ghanaian organizations will, a statement on the visit said, ”enhance collaboration and trade relations.
Nor is it without significance that the delegation that undertook the visit to Africa comprised government officials business leaders and trade experts, a circumstance that would have allowed for networking and business-to-business engagements that would have facilitated communication across a range of disciplines. A new and hopefully enduring initiative to rekindle the historic ties that have existed between the Caribbean and Africa, the visit included a major gathering of government officials, business leaders, and trade experts in Ghana on what was, in effect, a high point in the Caribbean-West Africa Trade mission to Ghana.
Contemporary relations between the Caribbean and Ghana would have been energized by the October 2019 visit to Guyana by Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and the subsequent visit here in December 2021 by the country’s Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President of the Republic of Ghana. Both Guyana and Ghana are now among the world’s major oil-producing countries.
Observers in the region would have been the recent Caribbean Export undertaking as lending continuity to the earlier high-profile visits to to Ghana’s two most senior political figures and the starting point of a wider initiative to “foster collaboration and explore emerging areas for trade and investment opportunities between Ghana and the Caribbean.”
The opening session welcomed the Hon. Stephen Amoah, the Deputy Minister of Trade from the Government of Ghana, who delivered remarks, expressing the government’s commitment to fostering trade relations with the Caribbean. Benjamin Dzoboku, Managing Director of Republic Bank Ghana PLC, and Mr Gerald Nsomba, Specialist Trade and Corporate Finance with AfriExim Bank, also shared their perspectives on the significance of the Ghana-Caribbean partnership and their efforts to support SME development along with trade and business opportunities between the regions.
Through the signing of the various Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) arising out of the interaction during the visit Caribbean Export – and by extension, Caribbean governments would have commenced the building of bridges with various influential Ghanaian high-profile organizations including the Private Enterprise Federation, the Ghana Union of Traders Association, and the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI). These MOU’s a report on the visit said, “aim to foster closer collaboration and enhance trade relations between the Caribbean and Ghana, exploring potential partnerships for joint activities and facilitate businesses in key sectors such as renewable energy, agriculture technology and ICT.”
Mr Deodat Maharaj, Executive Director of Caribbean Export, speaking at the event emphasized the importance of forging strong partnerships and highlighted the potential for economic growth through collaboration between Ghana and the Caribbean.
