Grand Bahama to host permanent African-Caribbean Marketplace

NASSAU — The unprecedented African Export-Import Bank annual meeting and AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum beginning Wednesday will leave a permanent presence in the host country with the development in Freeport, Grand Bahamas of a trade and export hub for 20 Caribbean nations and 54 African countries.

The bank is financing the development as part of more than $1.5 billion in commitments to the Caribbean, an effort initiated three years ago by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley and President Dr. Benedict Oramah.

“Owning Our Own Destiny: Economic Prosperity on the Platform of Global Africa is the theme for 5,000 attendees June 12-14. Opening day speakers include Al Haji Aliko Dangote, there to discuss the completion of Africa’s largest refinery, a $20 billion project at Lekki, and his vision of African manufacturing independence.

The Grand Bahamas facility, according to Prime Minister Philip Davis, will cover the International Bazaar, Princess Towers Hotel and West Sunrise Highway.

Ginger Moxey, minister for Grand Bahamas, said the complex would empower Bahamians in the creative fields and dramatically increase the less than one percent of commerce going between the Diaspora.

“The marketplace will also act as a promotion center for the various countries represented; a gathering place in the region for business deals,” she said. “It will be a taste of Africa, a taste of the Caribbean and a taste of each island of The Bahamas.”