The Government of Barbados has joined forces with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to host the inaugural AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum 2022 (ACTIF 2022) from September 1-3. The local agencies organising the Forum are Invest Barbados and Export Barbados. 

Executive Vice President of Afreximbank’s Intra-African Trade Bank, Kanayo Awani, recently led a team to Barbados ahead of the landmark event, which will be held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre. The Executive Vice President held meetings with Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Dr. Jerome Walcott and Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Ryan Straughn, at Ilaro Court. She also met with officials from several local and regional entities playing strategic roles in the Forum, including the Central Bank of Barbados, the CARICOM Secretariat, the CARICOM Private Sector Association, the Caribbean Development Bank and the OECS Commission. 

Matters of interest to Africa, Barbados and the Caribbean were discussed during the meetings, including:

• Barbados becoming a formal member of Afreximbank
  
• The US$250 million Caribbean-Africa Trade and Investment Promotion Programme
  
• Correspondent banking
  
• Renewable energy
  
• Use of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System by Caribbean countries
  
• Air links between Africa and the Caribbean, and
  
• Creative economy linkages.

The Forum will address some of these topics and more. For more information on ACTIF2022, including sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities, visit www.actif2022.com.