Antigua’s prime minister calls for stronger Africa-Caribbean partnership and renewed reparations action

Gaston Browne wants Africa-Caribbean ties to move from shared history to practical partnership. Marking Africa-Caricom Day 2026, Antigua and Barbuda’s prime minister called for closer economic, diplomatic, cultural and development cooperation between the two regions.

In a message supported by the Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Support Committee, Caricom, the African Union and the African diaspora, Browne said the commemoration should mean more than celebrating historical links. “The relationship between Africa and the Caribbean must be more than a historical connection. It must become a strategic partnership for the future,” he said.

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The relationship between Africa and the Caribbean must be more than a historical connection. It must become a strategic partnership for the future.

Browne pointed to the shared experiences of slavery, colonialism, exploitation and exclusion, but also to the resilience and creativity that emerged from that history. He called for solidarity to become cooperation in trade, investment, technology, education, tourism, transportation, culture and people-to-people exchanges.

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Our people must be able to travel, conduct business, exchange ideas, invest and build relationships with greater ease.

He identified connectivity as a key obstacle and cited the partnership between Air Peace and LIAT Air as an example of efforts to reduce the distance between Africa and the Caribbean. “Our people must be able to travel, conduct business, exchange ideas, invest and build relationships with greater ease,” Browne said. He also highlighted Antigua and Barbuda’s engagement with the African Export-Import Bank as a way to expand access to capital, trade, investment and entrepreneurship.

The prime minister said the relationship should not be defined only by commerce. “Africa is not simply a market for the Caribbean, and the Caribbean is not simply a market for Africa. We are family,” he said. Browne and the reparations committee also placed reparatory justice at the centre of the agenda, arguing that it should address inequalities created by slavery and colonialism and their continuing consequences. He reaffirmed Antigua and Barbuda’s support for Caricom’s reparations program and pointed to a regional conference scheduled for Sept. 17-19, 2026, in Bridgetown, Barbados. Browne also renewed his call for a Caricom-Africa Joint Commission.

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Africa is not simply a market for the Caribbean, and the Caribbean is not simply a market for Africa. We are family.