JAMAICAN manufacturers and exporters could soon gain easier access to a market of 1.4 billion people worth nearly US$3 trillion after Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama announced on Monday that he intends to push for the Caribbean’s inclusion in Africa’s free trade area next year.

Mahama also said Ghana would fast-track parliamentary approval of the air services agreement to allow direct flights between its capital, Accra, and Montego Bay, a move expected to strengthen trade, tourism and investment between the two countries.

Speaking during a media briefing with Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness as part of his four-day state visit to Jamaica, Mahama said discussions between the two leaders had focused on moving the long-standing historical relationship between Ghana and Jamaica beyond shared heritage and towards deeper economic cooperation.

He said Ghana intends to use its chairmanship of the African Union (AU) next year to pursue closer trade ties between Africa and the Caribbean, arguing that stronger commercial partnerships must become the next phase of Pan-African cooperation.

“When I was speaking with Mr Prime Minister, I said that one of the things that I would champion when I become AU chair next year… is to expand the remit of the African continental free trade area to include the Caribbean. We set up the African continental free trade area that allows us to export goods duty-free and tariff-free into each other’s markets. That’s a 1.4 billion population market, and that also is a 1.3 trillion GDP economy, and so we can plug the Caribbean in so that we can exchange goods between Africa and the Caribbean duty-free, tariff-free,” he announced.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which came into force in 2021, is the world’s largest free trade area by the number of participating countries and is designed to boost trade by reducing tariffs and other barriers among African nations. Mahama suggested extending that framework to the Caribbean would significantly broaden opportunities for businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.

He added that improved transport links would be critical to making those ambitions a reality, revealing that Ghana intends to move quickly to activate the air services agreement negotiated between the two countries.

“We have to activate the bilateral air services agreement between us, and it’s currently before our Parliament, and we’ll fast-track it so that it becomes operational, so that either national carriers between Jamaica and Ghana or third-party carriers can fly direct flights from Accra to Montego Bay,” he said.

Holness welcomed the commitment, saying direct air links would represent one of the most tangible outcomes of the state visit and could help unlock greater tourism, trade and investment between the two countries.

“Africa is the fastest-growing continent both in terms of demographics and in terms of their economies. It is an area which we have paid as a people great rhetoric, we’ve always been speaking about south-south cooperation. What I try to do is to find meaningful, tangible ways in which we can bring this cooperation to fulfilment. Clearly, Marcus Garvey set the foundation, connecting us intellectually, connecting us as a people. We now must take that and create… the economic emancipation of our people,” he said.

Holness noted that the state visit should not be viewed as merely symbolic, stressing that both governments are seeking practical outcomes capable of generating jobs, investment and long-term economic growth.

“We have focused primarily on, from a tourism perspective, trade and services, heavily on North American and European markets of late South American markets. But now we have to turn our attention to the African continent where there is a growing middle class who wants to travel, who wants to experience the world and who could be right at home and comfortable right here in Jamaica. So we see these visits as not just courtesies; these visits are important to set the foundation for the trade in goods and services that will come,” he said.

Beyond aviation, both leaders outlined plans to strengthen logistics and maritime cooperation, viewing their countries as strategic gateways to their respective regions.

Holness pointed to Jamaica’s continued investment in expanding the Port of Kingston, while noting Ghana is pursuing similar ambitions in West Africa. He said connecting the two logistics hubs could create more efficient trade routes for exporters and investors.

Mahama echoed that view, saying the Atlantic should become a conduit for commerce rather than a barrier separating the two regions.