P.J. Patterson, a former Prime Minister of Jamaica, urges the Caribbean and Africa to put more effort into capturing a larger portion of the world trade market.
The statesman-in-residence at The University of the West Indies (UWI) P. J. Patterson Institute for Africa-Caribbean Advocacy advised the Caribbean and Africa on Wednesday to not be content with remaining on the margins of international commerce.
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Patterson contends that in a global trade system based on norms, which the World Trade Organization (WTO) is responsible for enforcing, the two areas must work to achieve economic growth and sustainable development.
Despite making up one-third of the WTO’s membership, he pointed out that less than 4% of all commerce takes place in Africa and the Caribbean.
The former prime minister made the following statement at the Wednesday Africa-Caribbean Trade and Investment Forum at The UWI, Mona: “Africa’s share is below three percent and the Caribbean countries are about 0.5 percent. We cannot – and we will not – be content to remain at the periphery of the global trading system, and we must resolve to enter a new frontier in all six regions of Africa,”
According to him, Africa and the Caribbean are dealing with a mix of historical and modern crises, and the long-lasting effects of colonialism continue to have a crippling impact that restrains the huge growth potential of the two areas.
Patterson believed that slavery was the most horrific crime against humanity and a form of dreadful genocide. He claimed that colonialism was equally repugnant and unjust.
“Between them, countless lives were lost, entire generations perished, and our resources were mercilessly stolen. We must never relinquish our entitlements to full and long overdue reparations even as we persist to attain our inalienable rights to economic freedom, economic self-determination, economic sovereignty, and economic justice,” he noted.
The goal of the event, titled “Key Strategies for Trading and Investing in Africa, Highlighting Opportunities in Sierra Leone,” was to improve economic and commercial links between Jamaica and Sierra Leone in order to promote investments as well as trade in products and services.
Patterson thinks that a wider agreement for a sizable market of Caribbean nations may result from increasing commerce between Jamaica and Sierra Leone.
According to the most recent statistics from TradeMap, a division of ITC, a United Nations organization, Jamaica’s imports from Sierra Leone in 2020 were valued at US$242,000 as opposed to zero in 2019 and US$84,000 in 2018, There were no accessible statistics for 2021.
Over the years, Jamaica’s exports to Sierra Leone have been reported as zero.
According to Patterson, the Caribbean and western coastal regions of Africa may benefit greatly from the blue economy.
He reasoned that “The prerequisite is for us to be vigorous in defense of the resources of the ocean,”
Aubyn Hill, minister of industry, investment, and commerce, stated in his remarks that increasing exports was one of his ministry’s primary areas of concentration.
“I am prepared to put in the work to find mutually beneficial and sustainable avenues to increase our exports and bilateral trade between the two countries,” he said of Jamaica and Sierra Leone.
“We recognize that while we do not yet have a bilateral agreement that speaks specifically to trade between Jamaica and Africa, we believe that there are profitable opportunities for trade and investment in tourism that can be of significant value,” Hill noted.
In spite of Jamaica’s exports of aluminum, bauxite, and other minerals as well as its imports of petroleum and other food items from Sierra Leone, he claimed that commerce between the two regions has been very small.
The government nominated an ambassador and a special envoy to Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, and Togo, according to Hill, who stated that this occurred in March 2021. He said that this was yet another effort on the part of the Jamaican government to strengthen links with Africa and, more particularly, to find ways to increase trade and investment in support of the island’s economic growth.
In an effort to strengthen its commercial ties with Jamaica, Sierra Leone on Tuesday inaugurated a new consulate facility in Red Hills, St. Andrew.
