Africa is poised to become the next frontier of global economic growth with its demographic advantage, natural resources and untapped renewable energy, CARICOM Secretary General Dr Carla Barnett told a gathering of various African leaders on Friday.
There is also an opportunity for the continent and the Caribbean to “forge a path towards mutually beneficial collective action,” she said as she also cited the Bridgetown Initiative 3.0 as a common platform for joint advocacy.
Barnett was addressing the African Export-Import Bank 32nd Annual Meetings in Abuja, Nigeria and her theme was Progressive Unity In A Fractured World: Building A Global African Coalition For Development.
The globalisation phenomenon, she said, was expected to enhance North-South relations and the interdependence of people worldwide and bring prosperity in the developing world, through increased efficiency of industries and competitiveness driving growth and development.
“Instead, the world has devolved into what the World Economic Forum in its Global Risks Report 2025 has described as an ‘increasingly fractured global landscape, with escalating geopolitical, environmental, societal, and technological challenges’.
“Amidst these challenges, Africa, with a significant demographic advantage, natural resource base, untapped carbon markets and renewable energy, remains poised to become the next frontier of global economic growth.
Strategic assets
“However, to realise this potential, Africa will not only need to harness its diversity, but also leverage its strategic assets to mitigate some of the geopolitical and geo-economic risks emanating from an increasingly polarised global environment,” she warned.
Barnett suggested that the concept of “progressive unity”, characterised by prioritising shared values, collective vision, dialogue, and collaborative action, must be the guiding principle for Africa’s interactions. That will require bold strategic choices rooted in African agency, innovative policies and strong global partnerships.
“In this fractured environment, this is an opportunity for Africa, and the Caribbean, which is the home of a large contingent of the African diaspora – the Sixth Region – to build common cause on shared values and shared interests, and forge a path towards mutually beneficial collective action,” she told the Afreximbank Annual Meetings 2025 which had as its broad theme Building the Future on Decades of Resilience.
Her audience included President of Nigeria Bola Tinubu, President of Malawi Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, Prime Minister of The Bahamas Philip Davis, Prime Minister of Grenada Dickon Mitchell, Professor Benedict Oramah, president and chairman of the board of directors of the Afreximbank and former President of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo.
Breaking barriers
The Secretary General said the divisions created during the period of European colonisation of Africa and the Caribbean would remain, and even become further entrenched, without a focused intent on breaking down the barriers between the regions.
She explained that like the Caribbean, Africa’s well-being was inextricably linked to global prosperity but, amidst trade tensions triggered by a rise in protectionist measures and growing policy uncertainty, global economic growth was projected to slow down this year, remaining tepid in the short-tomedium- term. “This has caused a significant downward revision in the
growth outlook for almost all countries, including in Africa and in the Caribbean, thereby making progress on key development goals more difficult.
“More particularly, this prediction for global prosperity is accompanied by multiple shocks such as a downturn in global demand, lower prices for some key commodities, higher global borrowing costs, and constraints on external funding. These have significant implications for the growth and development trajectory of developing countries,” she said.
Of grave concern, she said, was the breakdown of the rules-based international trading system, the disruption in trade and investment flows, and the increased decoupling of traditional trading partners from the current providers of development support.
“Developing countries, like those in Africa and the Caribbean, are the hardest hit, as heightened geopolitical tensions and reduced trade lead to a fall in foreign direct investment and the knowledge spillovers that are so critical to driving inclusive growth and sustainable development.
Partnerships
“These geopolitical and geoeconomic developments require careful handling. There needs to be positive alignment between economic and political interests, and redefinition of global partnerships into mechanisms that foster inclusive growth, sustainable development, and economic and climate resilience for developing countries.
“Building such resilience requires that Africa, like the Caribbean, retain access to affordable, longterm, concessional financing from multilateral development institutions. The Bridgetown Initiative version 3.0 provides a common platform for joint advocacy on the reform of the multilateral financial system, whose governance model continues to mirror outdated political alliances and economic constructs. More than anything else, this situation serves as a basis for common cause between Africa and the Caribbean,” she stated.
Challenges posed by the realignment of global geopolitical and geo-economic interests created opportunities for Africa and the Caribbean to strengthen cooperation on mutual development goals, Barnett reasoned.
“Opportunities exist in areas such as trade and investment promotion, development finance, climate change, reparatory justice, mass media, and increased people to people contact. Moreover, a strong and mutually beneficial partnership between Africa and the Caribbean, underscored by the principle of progressive unity, can become the springboard for broader South-South cooperation that leverages comparative advantages, thereby creating strong economic growth and development trajectories,” Barnett stated.
Those possibilities, she said, could be explored during the Second CARICOM-Africa Summit in Ethiopia on CARICOM-Africa Day on September 7.
The foundations of African agency and the building of successful strategic partnerships have been laid with the admission of the African Union as a permanent member of the G-20, giving Africa an active voice on key global economic issues, she pointed out.
Antoinette Connell is in Abuja, Nigeria, sponsored by Afreximbank, covering the bank’s 32nd Annual Meetings.
