I will unite Africa, Caribbean and Latin America into world's biggest trading bloc — Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama says he intends to use Ghana’s upcoming chairmanship of the African Union (AU) to deepen economic cooperation between Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean by bringing the AU, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) closer together.

He said closer economic integration among the three regions, particularly through trade, could create a major trading bloc and strengthen the collective influence of countries in the Global South.

President Mahama made the remarks on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, during a bilateral meeting with Suriname’s President, Jennifer Geerlings-Simons, on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The meeting also saw Ghana and Suriname sign a new cooperation agreement expected to provide a framework for closer collaboration between the 2 countries.

Economic cooperation
President Mahama said the coalition that supported the Ghana-led UN resolution on reparatory justice had created an opportunity for deeper economic cooperation among Africa, the Caribbean, South America and the wider African diaspora.

"Following our historic resolution at the UNGA, I think that the coalition that came together to make it happen spanned Africa, Caribbean, and South America, and the whole African diaspora. So that resolution has given us a stronger platform for us to work together, not only on reparations, but also on bringing our economies together," President Mahama said.

He said countries in the Global South continued to face common structural challenges and remained disadvantaged within the international economic and political system.

"All of us are considered as spoils of war, and we are considered as less endowed nations. And so the only way we can break out of that stranglehold and have an equal table, chair the table, is for us to work together," he said.

President Mahama noted that Suriname had already been working towards closer relations between CELAC and the AU and said Ghana would pursue the objective during its upcoming AU chairmanship.

"I know Suriname has been working to get CELAC and the African Union to come even closer together. And I think that is something we must continue. I visited Jamaica recently, and I said, I'm going to take the chair of the AU. One of the things we want to see happen is to get CELAC, the Caribbean, and everybody come closer together.

"In terms of trade, already we have the African Continental Free Trade Area. I don't see why we can't expand that to include a larger area, CELAC, Caribbean, and Africa. That will become the biggest trading bloc in the whole of the world,” he said.

Bilateral relations
President Mahama also recalled the historical ties between Ghana and Suriname, noting that the relationship dates back to the early years of Ghana’s independence and was strengthened through visits by former heads of state.

He said the 2 countries should work towards reviving that level of engagement and expanding practical cooperation.

The President noted that Ghana and Suriname already had arrangements covering diplomatic and service passports and expressed hope that visa-free travel could eventually be extended to ordinary citizens.

"I hope that we'll work together to eventually open it up so that even one day Surinamese can travel to Ghana without visa and Ghanaians can travel to Suriname without visa," he said.

President Mahama thanked Suriname for its support for the UN resolution on reparatory justice and briefed President Geerlings-Simons on the follow-up Accra Next Steps Conference.

He said the conference adopted 19 major commitments and established 3 panels: “the High-Level Panel, the Expert Panel and the Panel on Restitution”.

President Mahama also invited the Surinamese President to Ghana’s 70th Independence anniversary celebrations on March 6, 2027, recalling Ghana’s historic position as the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence.