St. George’s, Grenada, July 29, 2025 (SKNIS): Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew, delivered an impactful address on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, at the fourth Africa Caribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF2025), calling on leaders and citizens alike to reimagine the Atlantic not as a divide, but as a bridge of opportunity.
Prime Minister Drew emphasised the importance of strengthening ties between Africa and the Caribbean to achieve shared progress and prosperity.
“It is indeed an honour for me to have the opportunity to address this remarkable gathering at the fourth Africa Caribbean Trade and Investment Forum, a forum that has grown stronger, more impactful, and more essential with every edition. Its very existence is a shining testimony of our shared resolve to reunite the African and Caribbean peoples through trade, investment, innovation, and purpose,” said Prime Minister Drew.
Dr. Drew stressed that Africa and the Caribbean must no longer remain on the periphery of global development but must boldly step into leadership roles in shaping a fairer, more inclusive world.
“We must be bold enough to tear down the bureaucratic and physical barriers that separate us, and be visionary enough to build the bridges – bridges of commerce, culture, and cooperation,” he said. “This is not hard. This is doable. What it requires is clarity of vision, consistency of purpose, and collective will.”
The prime minister underscored the progress already being made, referencing successful academic exchanges, cultural fusion, and trade missions between Africa and the Caribbean. He urged that travel between the two regions be made as seamless as travel to Europe, free from visa hurdles and complex routes.
“We must make travel between the Caribbean and Africa as normal and accessible as travel to Europe. Our people must be able to book a flight in any part of Africa and return within the same week. No visa hurdles. No complex routes, just connection,” PM Drew added.
As ACTIF2025 convenes global stakeholders, Dr. Drew issued a call to action to transform ideas into deliverables and strengthen the ties that unite Africa and the Caribbean.
“Let us therefore unite as one people – not as scattered states, but as one Global Africa, bound not only by ancestry but by ambition,” he said. “Let us build the Atlantic Bridge and step boldly into a future defined by our own vision. This is our time.”
He added that the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis continues to demonstrate its leadership by forging meaningful partnerships with Afreximbank and expanding opportunities for trade, education, and culture across the Atlantic.
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