Lately there have been growing calls for stronger ties between Africa and Caribbean nations and other regions of the world with populations of African ancestry, with most recent public appeal coming from the Prime Minister of Barbados. Speaking over the weekend at a side event at the ongoing 77th United Nations General Assembly, Mia Amor Mottley said, “Until we realise that we must work together, people are going to continue to use the imperialistic tool of divide and rule...We cannot let language and geography separate us as people with African descent.” Africa and the Caribbean have in recent times had a history of loose cooperation, including through the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, which has links to western interests and is ironically headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The two regions need not to go through third parties to work together on confronting common challenges and forging a better future together, particularly for their young people. Direct cooperation has happened before and there is no reason it shouldn’t happen today. Mottley’s call comes a year after President Kagame made a similar appeal, saying that efforts to create constructive forums through which African and Caribbean nations could engage and collaborate on several fronts were long overdue. The Rwandan leader repeated the message during his historic visit to the Caribbean nations of Jamaica and Barbados in April this year, emphasising that Africa and the Caribbean had a lot in common aside from a shared African heritage. The two regions are joined at the hip, with the Caribbean very much at the heart of the origins of the idea of pan-Africanism and an active player in early movements that advocated for the emancipation and empowerment of Black people. Indeed, in the broader scheme of things, both regions share a common destiny in a world where multilateralism has come under serious threats with the Global North tightening its stranglehold on the developing world. In any case, it is the inherent need for solidarity between Africans in Africa and the African diaspora, including populations in other regions with African descent, that underpins the idea behind pan-Africanism. One way through which Africa and the Caribbean can strengthen ties is through bilateral arrangements, including opening embassies, while regional organisations like the African Union, and Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) have an opportunity to seize the fresh momentum to harness shared interests, especially in business and economic collaborations.
