By: Staff Writer
February 10, 2023
A former Prime Minister of Jamaica is high on facilitating trade with Africa and is more than willing to use his eponymous institute to make this happen.
PJ Patterson, said at the Africa-Caribbean Trade and Investment Forum, hosted by the P.J. Patterson Institute for African-Caribbean Advocacy that: “The imperative for us to trade and invest in Africa is impatient of debate. We see trade and investment as central pillars in the work of our institute, which seeks to promote the development of the people of Africa, the Caribbean, and Africa diaspora. We therefore see our role at the Institute as trade and investment facilitators. We want to engage businessmen and business women in the diaspora of Africa and the Caribbean, as well as representatives from private and public sector institutions, including academia that can foster and support trade and investment.”
He added: “In order to achieve our development objectives, we’re seeking at the institute to enhance ongoing inter-governmental relationships by engaging civil society, through People to People connections that can make trade and investment happen.”
The P.J. Patterson Institute for Africa-Caribbean Advocacy at The University of the West Indies aims to centralize and coordinate its relations with African peoples, governments, universities, and institutions through a specialized institutional agreement. This Africa-Caribbean summit comes on the heels of another successful summit in Barbados, hosted by Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley in September, 2022.
Aubyn Hill, minister of industry, investment and commerce in Jamaica, also said: “Over the years, our people have worked together through decolonization, the quest for independence and on anti-apartheid issues. Our commitment to advancing our trade and economic relations remains as resolute as ever. These new arrangements must be and will foster improved bilateral trade and cultural exchanges.”
He continued, “Trade between the regions has been limited, although Jamaica has exported aluminium, bauxite and other minerals while importing petroleum and food products from Sierra Leone Prime Minister Andrew Holness has been deliberately strategic in pursuing a viable economic relationship with Africa.
“Both Jamaica and Sierra Leone have traditional economies and have benefited from the mining and agricultural sectors. But admittedly, there are some challenges to expanding trade with Sierra Leone that will need to be examined and addressed as we pursue deepened linkages. The infrastructural challenges coupled with logistic issues may make it difficult for local businesses to enter and sustain their presence in Sierra Leone.”
Dr Memunatu B. Pratt, minister of tourism and cultural affairs, Sierra Leone, also said: “Today, we look at what is happening with regards to the global crisis. We’ve seen what has happened, with regards to how distribution is done across the world in terms of basic commodities, the rising prices and then we look at the manner in which inflation is going on around the world. So that calls for a deeper reflection or a precision of what we can do together.
“So we can work on many different programmes, in terms of investment and trade, in tourism, in agriculture, in mining infrastructure, in whatever it is. I think this is the time for us, for Africa and Caribbean, to be able to do the right thing and ensure that it works.”