President John Mahama says he will push for Caribbean nations to join the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) once he becomes Chairman of the African Union.

He said this would help strengthen economic ties between Africa and the Caribbean, building on their shared history and culture, and would open up more opportunities for trade and investment. He also stressed that progress won't come automatically.

"With regards to trade, we don't kid ourselves that you snap your fingers and suddenly our trade volumes will go up. We need to work at it," he said.

He explained that improving trade means investing in infrastructure and logistics, and then expanding the trade area itself.

"As chair of the AU, I am going to push for the inclusion of the Caribbean into the African Continental Free Trade Area," he said.

Mahama made these comments at a joint press conference with Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness during his state visit to Jamaica.

He also explained how AfCFTA works, describing how countries harmonise their standards:

"The way the African Continental Free Trade Area works is that we harmonise our standards. And once you get approval from your standards authority that your product is of the standard that you can export, then they put you on a register," he said.

Once registered, businesses can check which products qualify, including electrical cables, transformers, iron and steel, processed foods, and pharmaceuticals, and connect with producers in other member countries through the platform.