Ayorkor Botchwey Urges Stronger Africa-Caribbean Trade—Cut Out the Middlemen! The Commonwealth Secretary General, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has made a bold appeal to African governments to close the trade gap with the Caribbean or risk losing a multi-million-dollar opportunity.
At the Leadership Conversation 2025 event hosted by the University of Gold Coast, she pointed out that the absence of direct air and sea links between the two regions is a big obstacle to trade. Even though it only takes about five to six hours by air, businesses have to route shipments through Europe and the Americas, driving up costs and putting a damper on commerce.
“If you take between Caribbean and Africa, it is just the Atlantic that separates us. There is so much we can do together, yet there are no air links and no maritime links”, she said.
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Botchwey maintained that establishing direct trade routes would create multi-million-dollar opportunities, allowing African nations to tap into the Caribbean’s demand for various goods readily available on the continent. She stressed that under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), African nations must work collectively to expand trade beyond the continent.
Infrastructure investment is critical to making AfCFTA a success, she noted, urging African leaders to develop rail, road, maritime, and air transport networks that facilitate seamless trade.
“Without efficient transport infrastructure, the benefits of AfCFTA will remain theoretical,” she cautioned, underscoring the need for bold investments in logistics to fully realize Africa’s trade potential with the Caribbean and beyond.
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