eBusiness Weekly
Business Writer
The 2024 Afreximbank Annual Meetings (AAM2024) and the third edition of the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) will be hosted by the Commonwealth of The Bahamas from 12- 14 June 2024.
On April 11, 2024, the Government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas signed an agreement with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in which it committed to hosting the third AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) as well as the African Export-Import Bank’s (Afreximbank) annual meeting in Nassau.
The ACTIF initiative is aimed at bolstering private sector ties between Africa and the Caribbean.
According to Professor Benedict Oramah, Afreximbank’s President, the theme for the 31st AAM and the 3rd ACTIF is “Owing Our Destiny: Economic Prosperity on the Platform of Global Africa.”
“This theme reflects our focus on broadening the discourse to determine solutions to the challenges that affect African Caribbean economies, the policy issues required to promote growth, development and prosperity across Africa and the Caribbean, and to accelerate intra- African trade and investment flows, including with the diaspora.”
Professor Oramah, says the meetings come at a time the global economic environment is changing.
“We are in an era where some major global economies are reaching geopolitical tensions by restricting international trade to prioritise their domestic industries.
“This partial move away from the rules-based trading system threatens the longstanding reliance of African economies on global support for shared growth,” said Professor Oramah.
Speaking soon after the signing ceremony, the Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis said his country will leverage its cultural and historical ties to forge closer Africa-Caribbean connections.
“Hosting both the AAM and ACTIF demonstrates The Bahamas’ commitment to leverage on the shared history, identities, and cultures of AfriCaribbean nations to forge significantly greater trade, investment, and direct transport linkages,” said Davis.
Part of the meetings will be Presidential Plenary and high-level panel sessions focusing on the need for Africans to pursue self-determination in the context of a global Africa that includes the Caribbean and the diaspora generally.
Seminars will continue on the second day while 14 June will be dedicated to the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) and will be marked by colourful events to celebrate shared AfriCaribbean culture, as well as elevating the essence of the two regions’ shared socio-economic aspirations.
