CARICOM Secretary-General Calls for United Action on Climate, Finance, and Connectivity

Addis Ababa, September 7, 2025 - (ENA) - At the Second Africa-Caribbean Summit opened in Addis Ababa today, the CARICOM Secretary-General, Carla Barnett highlighted the urgent need for a stronger partnership between the two regions to tackle shared challenges.

The speech underscored the critical importance of joint advocacy on global issues, increased trade and investment, and improved transportation links.

A central theme of the Secretary-General's address was the shared vulnerability of Africa and the Caribbean to climate change, a crisis for which they bear minimal responsibility.

"We together account for approximately 6% of the global emissions... but we are bearing an inordinate burden of the impact," the Secretary-General stated.

She called for joint advocacy on the international financial infrastructure's reform, grounding this effort in the Bridgetown Initiative, to secure the necessary resources for climate resilience and adaptation.

The Secretary-General emphasized the importance of a multilateral Air Services Agreement and welcomed existing bilateral initiatives, citing the joint venture between Antigua and Barbuda and Nigeria for LIAT 2020 as a positive example of a solution for inter-island travel.

Barnett stressed that enhanced trade and investment are crucial for the development potential of both regions, stating that solidifying the partnership between Africa and CARICOM would be a testament to the benefits of South-South cooperation.

 

“There is undeniable potential in the growing partnership between Africa and CARICOM. Further solidifying this partnership would stand as a testament to the enormous benefits of South-South cooperation, which has become an urgent necessity even in the rapid changes in the international order. It also reflects the reality of our contemporary world.”

She mentioned the shared history of both regions in their struggles for independence and self-determination, underscoring that the growing partnership is a reflection of their contemporary reality and a pathway to a more prosperous future.

The theme for this summit, a Transcontinental Partnership in Pursuit of Reparatory Justice for Africans and People of African Descent to Reparations, is particularly timely, she noted.  

“This summit notes the injustice of colonial rule and the transatlantic slave trade, and acknowledges that we must be unified in our demand for due compensation for the exploitative practices that traumatized and disadvantaged millions on both sides of the Atlantic, “ the Secretary General concluded.