Governor of the Central Bank of Bahamas, John Rolle has stated that the Caribbean could benefit from learning more about the Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) which is gradually gaining momentum with the development of trade in Africa.
He is of the greatest conviction that with the support from Afreximbank, the Central Banks across the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) could work towards replicating that system.
Mr Rolle has also stressed that successful projects in the Caribbean could keep the regions on pace to deliver on targets that are already being set for an international payment system and even at the retail level is more integrated, faster, and significantly cheaper for the average consumer.
“If we perfect the multilateral cross-border payments and settlements arrangement, it could also help us to conserve the use of precious international reserves, especially if we expand intra-regional trade, he added.
The Bahamian, Central Bank Governor, Mr Rolle gave the advice at the opening of Afreximbank Annual Meetings and the 3rd Afri-Caribeean Trade and Investment Forum, which kicked off last Wednesday in Nassau in Bahamas.
The African Continent is endowed with abundance of natural resources and the Caribbean Community is also noted with its enormous tourist’s attraction, however the quest for sustainable development has been a perennial struggle.
Owing to this sustained deprivation and marginalization coupled with identifiable trade development barriers that have been a major economic challenge the two regions have been battling with, it is therefore necessary that development stakeholders in the two regions seek to unify forces in the context of Global Africa for a better future.
The Senior Executive Vice President of Afreximbank, Denys Denya in his opening remarks at the Meeting has stressed that with the unity of the two Regions coupled with the numerical strength, Africa and the Caribbean have the voice to sit at a table when decisions are made and also become viable force to influence global decisions.
He stressed that there is a fervent need for a strong unity between the two regions to change the cause of their destiny as well as the economic fortunes to give a true meaning of this years theme, “Owning our Destiny: Economic Prosperity on the Platform of Global Africa,”
This year’s meetings have therefore been called to strengthen the linkages between Africa and the Caribbean which is the sixth region of the African Union and considered crucial for economic decision-makers in Africa and the Caribbean.
The opening of the AAM 2024 and ACTIF 2024 attracted African Heads of State, Ministers, government officials, and renowned captains of industry as well as over two thousand delegates held in Nassau in Bahamas.
Ms. Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of the International Trade Centre on her part emphasised the significant trade potential between Africa and the Caribbean, projecting trade to reach US$1.8 million annually by 2028.
She suggested it is time to explore establishing a free trade area between Africa and the Caribbean. “Trade agreements are one way to help bring down barriers and open new opportunities,” she stressed.
The importance of developing diverse and flexible systems to respond to challenges, highlighting the risks of rigidity in the face of shocks have also been recommended.
