A centre designed to coordinate public policy and advocacy by fostering development relations between the Caribbean and Africa was launched at The University of the West Indies last Friday.

According to Sir Hilary, The UWI, as part of the re-visioning of the 21st Century Caribbean, has established centres in other countries, among them one in China dealing with software engineering; Brock University Canada on Canada /Caribbean relations; and State University of New York dealing with USA joint programmes for development.

“The 21st Century is going to be about the rekindling and the rebuilding of bridges with the African continent which is a critical part of Caribbean civilisation, which has been the basis of our sense of popular identity, and so we have also established a centre at The University of Lagos and at the University of Johannesburg — the Centre for Global Africa.

The peoples of African descent must forge through dialogue to a consensus agenda to articulate a vision of a reordered world in which our governments and regional organisations have a leadership role”.

Added Patterson: “We propose a dialogue at the level of the heads of government to agree on a common agenda and to initiate a programme of international cooperation among countries in Africa and its global diaspora of people of African descent.”