I am pleased to share that the Afronomics Law Blog Symposium entitled “Prospects for Deepening Africa-Caribbean Economic Relations”, which I am co-convening with the brilliant Dr. Ohio Omiunu, commences today Monday, September 6!
To view the introduction to the Symposium authored by my co-convenor Dr. Ohio Omiunu and myself as well as the essays which will be posted daily, please click here.
I am pleased to share that the Afronomics Law Blog Symposium entitled “Prospects for Deepening Africa-Caribbean Economic Relations”, which I am co-convening with the brilliant Dr. Ohio Omiunu, will commence on Monday, September 6.
The insightful essays in the Symposium authored by academics and practitioners focus on various aspects of the Africa-Caribbean economic relationship, including relations within the OACPS and WTO, prospects for deepening Africa-Caribbean trade, inter alia. The Symposium’s launch coincides with the historic first CARICOM-Africa Summit which will be held virtually on Tuesday, September 7.
I wish to thank the Afronomics Law Blog for the opportunity to co-convene this Symposium. I also express deep gratitude to my excellent co-convenor Dr. Omiunu and our expert contributors for taking the time to share their insightful contributions and making what we hope you will also find to be an insightful Symposium!
The essays will be available from Monday and will be added daily. They can be accessed from Monday here.
Best,
Alicia
Alicia Nicholls
Days after the first ever United Nations (UN) International Day for People of African Descent was celebrated, there will be the first ever Caribbean Community (CARICOM)-Africa Summit! The summit, which was originally carded for July 2020, was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The rescheduled summit, which will now be held on September 7, will be hosted by the Government of Kenya and chaired by Kenyan President, His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta under the theme “Unity Across Continents and Oceans: Opportunities for Deepening Integration”. The event will be livestreamed on CARICOM’s Youtube and Facebook pages. You can watch it below:
CARICOM Today notes that participants will include “Heads of State and Government of the Caribbean Community and the African Union, Chairs of CARICOM and the African Union Commission, and the Africa Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the Secretaries-General of CARICOM and the Organisation of the African Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), and the President of Caribbean Development Bank (CDB)”.
The summit is the latest initiative in a push on both sides of the Atlantic for closer Africa-CARICOM ties which transcend traditional historic and cultural ties towards real commercial ties and deeper economic and cultural cooperation. As I noted in a previous piece back in 2019 entitled “Africa-Caribbean Trade: What are the prospects?“, current Africa-Caribbean trade remains small, but the prospects for expanded Africa-Caribbean trade are promising given four main factors: (1) Caribbean countries’ push for export partner diversification, (2) Africa is on the rise, (3) increased Caribbean-African awareness such as the Timaya-Machel collaboration, (4) the signing of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). I had further argued in that piece that “since it is firms which trade and not countries, building linkages between chambers of commerce and investment promotion agencies in the Caribbean and African countries would also be key”.
On another note, starting Monday, I am truly pleased to have co-convened this Afronomicslaw. org Blog Symposium with the brilliant Dr Ohiocheoya Omiunu (PhD) on “Prospects for Deepening Africa-Caribbean Economic Relations“! The insightful contributions to this symposium will be released daily (from Monday) and can be read on the Afronomics Law Blog. Deepest appreciation to our expert contributors for their invaluable contributions!
The CTLD Blog wishes the organisers a successful CARICOM-Africa summit. I sincerely hope that the results go more beyond simply a lengthy communique of hortatory goals, but there will be a concrete action plan on deepening CARICOM-African ties.
Alicia Nicholls, B.Sc., M.Sc., LL.B. is a trade and development consultant with a keen interest in sustainable development, international law and trade. All views herein expressed are her personal views and should not be attributed to any institution with which she may from time to time be affiliated. You can read more of her commentaries and follow her on Twitter @LicyLaw.
Total trade volumes between African and Caribbean countries remain small, but the potential and opportunities for enhancing trade, investment and economic cooperation between these two regions are encouraging based on shared historical and cultural ties. To this end, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has announced steps to formalize relations with the African Union (AU).Several CARICOM countries have also sought to deepen bilateral ties with individual African countries. Africa-Caribbean Economic Relations and cooperation are even more critical now as countries on both sides of the Atlantic aim to kickstart economic recovery following the devastation wrought by the COVID-19 shock. Indeed, vaccine cooperation became another form of Africa-Caribbean cooperation when the AU offered CARICOM access to some of the approved vaccines from a shipment it was receiving.
Given the limited but promising trade and investment relationship between both regions, there is a dearth of scholarly analysis on the Africa-Caribbean economic relationship. This Symposium aims to address this gap in international economic relations scholarship through considered analytical pieces exploring aspects of this understudied relationship.
We invite authors to submit contributions which critically analyze and examine this relationship from a variety of perspectives, including but not limited to:
Submission Guidelines:
Essays that are submitted as part of this symposium must be analytical and original. Authors must comply with the Afronomicslaw.org blog submission guidelines accessible here. Blogs are to be submitted to afronomicslaw@gmail.com with the title ‘African-Caribbean Relations Blog Submission’.
Deadline for Submission of Essays:
May 14, 2021.
Inquiries or clarifications relating to this call should be directed to Ohio Omiunu (ohio.omiunu@dmu.ac.uk) and Alicia Nicholls (alicia.nicholls@cavehill.uwi.edu)
Caribbean Trade Law and Development 