ABUJA, Nigeria — Former Jamaican prime minister PJ Patterson is calling for an unprecedented economic alliance between Africa and the Caribbean to forge what he termed “Global Africa’s” path to prosperity.

He was delivering a keynote address at the 32nd Annual Meeting of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

Speaking before an audience of African heads of state, Caribbean leaders, and international development partners, Patterson outlined a comprehensive vision for transforming centuries of shared heritage into a modern economic powerhouse capable of competing on the global stage.

“We are now separated by the Atlantic Ocean, but we should never forget that in the age of Gondwana, we were all part of a single supercontinent,” Patterson declared. “That geological rupture gave us both the richly endowed continent of Africa and serendipitously the bejewelled fragments that are the Caribbean Islands.”

Patterson’s address highlighted the urgent need for Africa-Caribbean economic cooperation in an era of global uncertainty. Current bilateral trade between the regions stands at US$729 million, but research by the International Trade Centre and Afreximbank shows this could reach US$1.8 billion by 2028 through strategic partnership and investment.

“The global order that has existed since the Second World War is imploding before our eyes,” Patterson warned. “The emerging face of protectionism is openly intolerant and dismissive of the aspirations of the countries of the Global South. For our survival and prosperity, we must act with urgency to strengthen relations within our regions.”

The longest-serving Jamaican prime minister praised Afreximbank’s Caribbean Initiative, which has committed US$2.5 billion in project pipelines and US$1.5 billion in investment opportunities across both regions. He specifically commended the bank’s recent commissioning of the African Trade Centre in Bridgetown, Barbados, as a tangible symbol of growing partnership.

Patterson emphasised the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital platforms in bridging the Atlantic divide. He announced continued collaboration between Afreximbank and the University of the West Indies’ Institute for Africa-Caribbean Advocacy on an AI hub pilot study designed to advance education, research, innovation, and trade between the regions.

“We who belong to Global Africa must develop AI of our own to deepen our economic and cultural linkages,” Patterson stated. “Both regions are hosts to enormous and successful creative and cultural industries. AI is key to creating a broad digital footprint where innovation and creativity can create economic value.”

Drawing on his diplomatic experience as architect of the original Lomé Convention and former chair of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, Patterson called for coordinated positioning in international forums.

“We must not allow ourselves to be divided or disregarded in the WTO (World Trade Organization), in the IMF (International Monetary Fund), at the United Nations, and especially at the climate negotiations,” he declared. “We must develop a common diplomatic architecture, coordinate our messaging and resist attempts to dilute our agendas.”

Patterson emphasised that economic transformation must be rooted in cultural pride and historical understanding.

“The post-colonial project cannot be fulfilled by economic metrics alone,” he said. “Our economic emancipation must be rooted in the fullest recognition of who we are.”

He challenged both regions to teach their youth about their rich heritage, stating, “Our youth must know that they are descendants of astronomers, engineers, architects, and philosophers. Before the Age of Exploration, there was the Age of the Nile Valley, of Timbuktu, of Kumasi and the Maroons, we are creators of knowledge.”

Patterson concluded his address with a call to action that resonated throughout the conference hall: “When our ancestors were taken across the Middle Passage, they brought with them not only pain, but also purpose. Today in this room, we are that harvest. We are the realisation of their longing. Let us turn this initiative into a movement, and this movement into momentum of our unity, prosperity and pride.”

The next major gathering is the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum scheduled for July 28-29, 2025, in St George’s, Grenada.