Prime Minister Gaston Browne to Champion Economic Integration at AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum 2025

St. George’s, Grenada — 27th July 2025……The Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, the Honourable Gaston A. Browne, traveled to Grenada to participate in the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) 2025, held from July 28–29, 2025, under the theme “Resilience and Transformation: Enhancing Africa-Caribbean Economic Cooperation in an Era of Global Uncertainty.”

The high-level event, hosted at the Radisson Conference Centre in St. George’s, brings together more than 800 delegates from 70 countries, including Heads of State and Government, business leaders, and regional development partners, to explore new opportunities in trade, investment, and cultural cooperation between Africa and the Caribbean.

Prime Minister Browne is a featured panelist in the Presidential Session titled “New World Order as an Opportunity for Strengthening Africa-Caribbean Trade, Investment, and Cultural Relations”, alongside fellow Caribbean leaders including Prime Ministers Mia Amor Mottley (Barbados), Dr. Terrance Drew (St. Kitts and Nevis), Philip J. Pierre (St. Lucia), Roosevelt Skerritt (Dominica), and President Mohamed Irfaan Ali (Guyana). Leaders from Africa, including high-level representatives from Rwanda, Zambia, Chad, and Tanzania, will also join the session on Monday.

The session to be moderated by CNN Anchor Zain Asher, will address how the global geopolitical realignment presents strategic opportunities for Africa and the Caribbean to forge deeper partnerships, enhance regional supply chains, and reduce dependency on traditional markets.

Prime Minister Browne is expected to emphasize the need for a unified Global Africa Coalition to ensure the prosperity and resilience of both regions. He will highlight the critical role of south-south cooperation, shared historical and cultural ties, and the importance of leveraging the diaspora, digital innovation, and institutional frameworks to secure lasting economic transformation.

“We must not only deepen our diplomatic ties but also institutionalize our trade and investment platforms to sustain this momentum. ACTIF2025 is proof that we are moving from vision to action,” Prime Minister Browne stated before his departure from Antigua on Sunday.

ACTIF2025 builds upon the successes of prior forums and the landmark Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2024 between the African Union Commission and the CARICOM Secretariat, as well as recent investments by Afreximbank, which has committed over USD 3.5 billion in transactions across the Caribbean, including a regional trade office established in Barbados.

The Prime Minister’s participation reinforces Antigua and Barbuda’s commitment to being at the forefront of the Africa-Caribbean trade integration agenda, promoting economic diversification, diaspora engagement, and cultural connectivity.

In addition to participating in the Presidential Panel, Prime Minister Browne will also engage in bilateral discussions with leaders and investors on the margins of the forum, aimed at expanding trade, securing climate finance, and identifying joint venture opportunities across priority sectors.

Prime Minister Browne said that the Government of Antigua and Barbuda thanks the Government of Grenada and Afreximbank for hosting this critical engagement and looks forward to implementing concrete outcomes from ACTIF2025 in partnership with African counterparts.