The first ever AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) opened in Barbados on Thursday with host Prime Minister Mia Mottley saying the two regions “have business to do” and asserting that it was only political will keeping the two regions from establishing direct air links.
Giving the keynote address at the start of the September 1-3 conference which her government is hosting with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Mottley said while the existing political cooperation between Africa and the Caribbean is essential, it is not sufficient to reverse the underdevelopment of either region.
She insisted that they had not fully tapped into the existing avenues for partnership, including business and tourism.
The Barbadian leader also addressed the issue of air travel and the lack of direct air links between Africa and the Caribbean.
About 120 of the over 1 000 people registered for the conference arrived on the island on Wednesday on an Ethiopian Airlines chartered direct flight from Lagos, Nigeria.
