Mahama Wants to Pull the Caribbean Into Africa’s Free Trade Area
Ghana · TRADE
Key Facts
—The proposal: On August 3, 2026, President John Dramani Mahama said he would push for Caribbean inclusion in the African Continental Free Trade Area when he becomes chair of the African Union.
—Market size cited: Mahama described the AfCFTA as a market of 1.3 billion people with a combined gross domestic product of more than US$3 trillion.
—Ratification status: As of December 2025, 50 of 55 African Union members had ratified the AfCFTA agreement, with 25 countries having completed their tariff concession processes.
—Ghana’s role: Ghana hosts the AfCFTA Secretariat in Accra and was one of the pilot countries in the Guided Trade Initiative launched in October 2022.
—Infrastructure focus: Mahama linked the proposal to corridor economics, citing the Abidjan–Lagos corridor and extending connectivity toward Dakar as examples of how physical infrastructure could unlock trade.
—Visa diplomacy: Ghana has expanded visa-free access to all African citizens and concluded travel agreements with Caribbean states including Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama has proposed an AfCFTA Caribbean expansion, calling for the Caribbean to be brought into the African Continental Free Trade Area framework as a structured transatlantic economic partnership rather than a simple treaty amendment.
What Mahama proposed in Kingston
Speaking during an official visit to Jamaica on August 3, 2026, Mahama said that as incoming chair of the African Union he would “push for the inclusion of the Caribbean into the African Continental Free Trade Area.” The statement, reported by Ghanaian media, framed the move as a political expansion of Africa–Caribbean economic integration under the AfCFTA umbrella rather than a formal legal enlargement of the treaty itself.
Mahama argued that Africa and the Caribbean should deepen trade, logistics and market access so that businesses on both sides of the Atlantic can invest together. He stressed that infrastructure, transport corridors and digital connectivity must accompany any trade architecture for it to deliver real economic results.
In an earlier post on X after meeting Grenada’s prime minister, Mahama highlighted Ghana’s position as the AfCFTA headquarters and cited a market of 1.3 billion people with a combined gross domestic product of more than US$3 trillion. The discussion with Grenada also covered political consultations, culture, education and visa waivers.
The legal reality behind the AfCFTA Caribbean expansion idea
The current AfCFTA treaty is an African agreement. The Caribbean is not a member region under the existing legal architecture, meaning any real expansion would require new legal instruments, associate arrangements or a parallel cooperation framework involving the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the African Union.
Mahama’s proposal should therefore be read as a call for a structured Africa–Caribbean trade architecture linked to AfCFTA mechanisms, not as something already approved by the AU or AfCFTA member states. The distinction matters for investors watching whether this becomes a formal negotiating mandate or remains a political aspiration.
The AfCFTA was established by the 2018 agreement and the African Union describes it as the flagship project of Agenda 2063. Ghana’s government has said the agreement became operational in January 2021, and as of December 2025 a U.S. government market update recorded 50 ratifications out of 55 AU members, with 25 countries having completed their tariff concession processes.
Why Ghana wants to be the gateway economy
Ghana is positioning itself as a gateway economy for the continent. It hosts the AfCFTA Secretariat in Accra, was one of the pilot countries in the Guided Trade Initiative, and Mahama has been using the same AfCFTA pitch with British, Asian and other investors, describing Ghana as a manufacturing and processing hub for the entire African market.
The Caribbean angle fits Ghana’s broader mobility diplomacy. The country has expanded visa-free access to all African citizens and concluded additional travel agreements with Caribbean states such as Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Saint Kitts and Nevis, according to Ghanaian and regional reporting.
Mahama has repeatedly linked AfCFTA to infrastructure, especially transport corridors and digital connectivity. He specifically cited the Abidjan–Lagos corridor and extending connectivity toward Dakar as examples of how physical infrastructure could unlock intra-African trade, and has backed continent-wide payment solutions such as the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System.
The money and power stakes of a transatlantic trade platform
The basic business logic is to build a larger transatlantic market for goods, services, investment, labour mobility and payments, rather than treating Africa and the Caribbean as separate, fragmented markets. For companies already manufacturing in Ghana or Nigeria, adding Caribbean market access would improve the return on any factory or logistics investment.
The strategic subtext is South–South coalition-building. Africa and the Caribbean are trying to increase bargaining power in a global economy dominated by larger blocs, tighter supply chains and rising economic nationalism, a dynamic explored in our pillar series Africa: The New Scramble.
There is also a reparations and historical-identity dimension. Mahama’s Jamaica visit was framed not only around trade, but also culture, reparations and the long-term Africa–CARICOM political relationship, giving the economic proposal a deeper diplomatic resonance.
What the AfCFTA Caribbean expansion means for investors
For foreign firms, the proposal signals that Ghana intends to use its AfCFTA Secretariat host status and AU chairmanship to broaden the addressable market beyond Africa’s borders. A structured Africa–Caribbean trade framework would let a manufacturer in Accra or Lomé sell into Kingston or Port of Spain under preferential terms, assuming the legal architecture is eventually built.
Mahama has stressed that trade integration needs cross-border payments to work, backing continent-wide payment solutions. This suggests that fintech and payments infrastructure would be early beneficiaries if the political vision advances to a negotiating mandate.
The proposal also strengthens Ghana’s diplomatic profile at a moment when Africa’s great-power competition is intensifying, with states courting investment from the United Kingdom, China, Gulf countries, the United States and emerging partners while trying to avoid dependence on any single external power.
What to watch next
The immediate next step is whether the African Union formally takes up the Caribbean proposal when Mahama assumes the AU chairmanship. No date for that transition has been set, but the proposal will need support from other large AU economies to move from a presidential statement to a negotiating mandate.
Investors should watch for any joint AU–CARICOM communiqué, a feasibility study mandate, or a ministerial working group on Africa–Caribbean trade architecture. Any of those would signal that the proposal is moving from political aspiration toward something that could eventually reshape market access rules across the Atlantic.
The broader story is Ghana trying to turn AfCFTA from a continental trade treaty into a transatlantic geopolitical platform. The business case is scale, payments and logistics; the political case is Black Atlantic solidarity and South–South bargaining power; the geopolitical case is that Africa and the Caribbean want more leverage in a fragmented world economy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Ghana’s President Mahama propose about the AfCFTA and the Caribbean?
On August 3, 2026, during an official visit to Jamaica, Mahama said he would push for Caribbean inclusion in the African Continental Free Trade Area when he becomes chair of the African Union, calling for deeper trade, logistics and market access between the two regions.
Is the Caribbean legally part of the AfCFTA now?
No, the current AfCFTA treaty is an African agreement and the Caribbean is not a member region under the existing legal architecture, so any expansion would require new legal instruments or a parallel cooperation framework involving CARICOM and the AU.
How many countries have ratified the AfCFTA agreement?
As of December 2025, 50 of 55 African Union members had ratified the AfCFTA agreement, with 25 countries having completed their tariff concession processes.
Connected Coverage
For deeper analysis of how Africa’s trade integration intersects with great-power competition and South–South coalition-building, read our pillar series Africa: The New Scramble.
Sources
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