Haiti gets CARICOM membership to accede to Afreximbank partnership agreement

Haiti has become the 12^th Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member state to accede to the partnership agreement between and among CARICOM countries and African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

At a brief ceremony recently at the Haitian Investment Forum, held on the sidelines of the 79^th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Haiti, the Dr. Garry Conille, and the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, Professor Benedict Oramah, signed the documents formalising Haiti’s accession to the partnership.

Introduced by the Bank in 2022 following the African Union’s 2008 resolution designating the Diaspora as the sixth region of Africa, the Partnership Agreement recognises that Africans on the continent and in the Diaspora share deep historical, cultural, and political ties, as well as a sense of common identity.

It therefore seeks to promote the Global Africa agenda, which includes the expansion of two-way trade and investment between Africa and its Diaspora, to stimulate economic development.

With Haiti’s signature, 12 of the 15 CARICOM member states have now acceded to the Partnership Agreement, with nine of them concluding its ratification. The move paves the way for both public and private sector institutions in the country to access the US$1.5bn financing limit approved by Afreximbank’s Board to support projects and trade related transactions in the region. This limit is set to double once all the CARICOM member states join the partnership agreement.

At the event, Afreximbank announced plans to institute a US$ 250 million facility to support the rebuilding of the Haitian economy.

In his comments, Haiti’s Prime Minister Dr. Garry Conille said it was with immense gratitude that they receive the announcement of a US$250 million facility for Haiti. This according to him was a decisive and impactful gesture that held the promise of revitalisation for their economy and renewal for the people.

“This facility will allow us to address some of the most pressing challenges we face, from infrastructure and energy to agriculture and manufacturing. It will also serve as a catalyst for unlocking the potential that exists within our nation — potential that has long been stifled but never extinguished,” he stressed.

He added that the facility was a concrete step towards regaining Haiti’s rightful place in the global economy, noting that it would create the right conditions for Haiti to ‘once again stand tall,’ contributing not only to the region but to the wider world.

In his remarks, Prof. Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, expressed his deep and sincere gratitude to the Prime Minister of Haiti, for his courage and demonstrated commitment to advancing trade and investment relations between Africa and Haiti, and the Caribbean region in general.

“Haiti’s accession to this Partnership Agreement marks another historic move towards enhanced Afri-Caribbean cooperation thereby helping to propel the Global Africa agenda towards a more prosperous future,” he added

Following the introduction of the Partnership Agreement with Caribbean countries, Afreximbank has hosted three editions of its AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) in the region and established its regional office in Barbados.

In just under two years, the multilateral Bank has provided more than US$2.5 billion in funding across the CARICOM, targeting key areas such as infrastructure development, climate adaptation projects, SME financing, among others.

In June, the Bank hosted its 2024 Annual Meetings in The Bahamas, a historic event that brought together more than 4,000 people from across the globe. The event also doubled as the third ACTIF and served as one of the high-level events by Afreximbank to demonstrate the Global Africa movement.

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