The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, has declared that Nigeria views the Caribbean as household, not only a market, as each areas transfer to construct a brand new bi-directional hall for healthcare manufacturing, commerce, and expertise switch throughout the Atlantic.
Akume said this in Antigua throughout a Fireside Chat on the Commonwealth Business Forum on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (GHOGM) 2026, alongside Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley and the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Director-General, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
“When we speak of Africa and the Caribbean, we are speaking of a shared history, a shared heritage and, above all, a shared people. Many Barbadian families trace their ancestry to the lands that are now Nigeria. Prime Minister Mottley herself has spoken of her Nigerian roots,” Akume stated in a press release by his spokesman, Yomi Odunuga.
“The African Union recognises the diaspora as Africa’s sixth region. For Nigeria, therefore, the Caribbean is not simply another market or another partner. The Caribbean is family,” he declared.
The SGF stated the historic bond should now be given an financial future constructed on South-South cooperation that delivers tangible advantages for each peoples.
“For too long, countries across the Global South have depended on others for essential medicines and medical supplies. We must have a greater role in developing the solutions to these challenges. We must be able to produce more of the medicines our people need, and ensure that those medicines are safe, effective and accessible,” he stated.
“This is what South-South cooperation should mean in practice: recognising the strengths we already possess and bringing them together for our mutual benefit.”
Akume additionally famous that beneath President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, Nigeria has made healthcare manufacturing a nationwide precedence via the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain.
“We recognise that our manufacturers must also look beyond Nigeria’s borders if they are to grow and compete. The Caribbean offers an opportunity to deepen our historic relationship while building new economic connections across the Atlantic and into the Americas,” he famous.
He burdened that manufacturing capability should go hand in hand with high quality and public confidence, highlighting the position of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in defending in opposition to substandard and falsified medicines and in providing alternatives for regulatory cooperation and technical alternate with Caribbean companions.
“As the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, I also recognise that partnerships of this nature require sustained coordination. Health, trade, regulation, investment and financing must work together if our ambitions are to translate into results,” Akume stated.
The SGF pointed to encouraging progress already recorded within the Nigeria-Barbados well being partnership, recalling that in November 2025, Nigeria’s Presidential Initiative and Barbados Pharmaceutical Inc. signed a Memorandum of Understanding to advance cooperation.
“In March of this year, AMA Medical Manufacturing delivered its first shipment of intravenous fluids from Nigeria to Barbados. Air Peace flights connecting Lagos with Barbados and Antigua are also helping to bring our regions closer together,” he revealed.
He emphasised that the connection should work each methods, citing that Barbados-made Lenstec intraocular lenses have undergone analysis and early medical use in Nigeria.
“This is a reminder that the Caribbean also has expertise and products to offer Africa. We should be building a corridor through which goods, investment, skills and knowledge move in both directions,” Akume said.
The spotlight of the discussion board was the proposed three way partnership between AMA Medical Manufacturing and Barbados Pharmaceutical Inc. to ascertain intravenous fluids manufacturing in Barbados, with Afreximbank’s engagement in mission preparation and financing pathway.
“This is a Nigerian enterprise putting down roots in the Caribbean. It is an opportunity to transfer skills, develop local expertise and establish productive capacity that will remain and grow in the region,” the SGF stated, welcoming the agreements being signed.
“Our shared history has given us a powerful bond. Our responsibility now is to give that bond an equally powerful future. Let us build a partnership in which Africa and the Caribbean can rely more confidently on our own capabilities, respond to the health needs of our people and create opportunities for generations to come,” Senator Akume concluded.
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