St. George’s: The Grenada National Reparations Committee (GNRC) says direct Caribbean-to-Africa airlift should be a focus of ongoing attempts at strengthening ties between Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries and African Union (AU) nations.

“There is perhaps no better way for Africans on the continent and those in the Caribbean Diaspora to reconnect than to be able to fly direct to one another’s countries on a regular basis,’’ said GNRC Chairman Arley Gill.

He made the remarks on Thursday on the commemoration of Africa-Caricom Day. The annual observance of the day was a decision of September 7 2021, when Kenya hosted leaders of the first Caricom-AU Summit.

The participating leaders decided to establish September 7 for an annual acknowledgement and celebration to signal an ongoing commitment to strengthening relationships.

Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, who is Caricom Chairman, used Thursday’s commemoration to urge the people of the region to maintain momentum at fostering an increasingly important and fast-developing relationship with Africa and the AU.

“As Caricom, we continue to prioritize efforts to build on our deep historic and cultural ties with our sister African nations. We are keen to identify new avenues for partnership and collaboration and advance existing initiatives to expand trade and commercial relations between our two regions,” Skerrit said.

Gill also identified cultural exchanges and economic collaboration as specific areas offering potential mutual benefits to the Caribbean and Africa.

“The Caribbean, with a large percentage of its population descended from Africa, and Africa itself, are both renowned for their exciting artistic and musical talents. There’s a natural synergy that we can build on,’’ said Gill.

“The GNRC also believes that in the quest to diversify our economies and find new markets for our products, Grenada and the rest of Caricom ought to look for opportunities in Africa and other countries of the south.’’