Grenada seeking to benefit from a partnership agreement between CARICOM and African bank

The Grenada government says it will seek membership in the partnership agreement between the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank).

“Cabinet on Monday approved Grenada joining the partnership agreement between the CARICOM and the Afreximbank or the African Export Import Bank,” Prime Minister Mitchell told a news conference.

At the inaugural Africa-Caribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) held in Barbados last September, CARICOM signed the partnership agreement with Afreximbank that officials say consolidates the financial institution’s efforts to promote and develop South-South trade and specifically trade between Africa and the Caribbean in line with its Diaspora Strategy.

“The bank is a well-run successful bank, existing for 30 years on the continent of Africa, and part of this is to look at how we can leverage non-traditional lending institutions, particularly to assist private sector entities within the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and in Grenada to get additional concessionary financing,” he said.

Last December, the Afreximbank board of directors approved US$1.5 billion in funding to enable CARICOM countries that have ratified the partnership agreement to tap into the bank’s various financial instruments.

The Egypt-based bank is a pan-African multilateral trade finance institution created in 1993 under the auspices of the African Development Bank.

On Tuesday, St. Kitts-Nevis joined Barbados and St. Lucia in passing the legislation to ratify the Afreximbank Partnership Agreement that Prime Minister Dr. Terrence Drew said: “has the potential to unlock finances and new areas of development that are so needed here in our Federation”.

Prime Minister Mitchell said Grenada is also exploring possibly becoming a member of the Development Bank of Latin America.

“The team at the Ministry of Finance is currently reviewing that situation with the hope we can get cabinet approval in the not to distance future. The aim is to give us as much flexibility as possible regarding concessionary financing to drive Grenada’s economic growth,” he said.

The Development Bank of Latin America promotes a sustainable development model through credit, non-refundable resources, and support in the technical and financial structuring of projects in the public and private sectors in Latin America and the Caribbean.