Aliko Dangote. Photo: TOPE ADENOLA

Dangote, who was a speaker on the presidential panel on the first day of the forum, also mentioned Grenada as another suitable country for a Caribbean petroleum terminal.

The African businessman is one of the most respected leaders on the continent, and has set his sights on helping Caribbean nations to obtain cheaper inputs to power their economies.

“They keep saying that no power, which means no electricity, no growth and no prosperity,” Dangote said during the forum.

“So, I think we need to really get that power cost down immediately in the Caribbean, whether through Guyana or Suriname oil, whatever it is.

“I think the Caribbean needs to work very, very hard. It’s not even just about smaller industries. We can come and set up bigger industries, and then we can use the services of the small and medium-scale industries to grow.”

Dangote highlighted his company’s success in Nigeria, where it invested $2.5 billion in southern and eastern Africa. He also stressed the importance of government support to overcome challenges, advocating for visa-free travel and improved air connectivity to facilitate trade and investment between Africa and the Caribbean.

Dangote also noted that his company, which is on tap to become one of the largest producers of fertilizer in the world, and is a major producer of cement, can supply these inputs for the Caribbean, as Afreximbank continues to foster trade ties between African and Caribbean nations.

“I feel very much at home in the Caribbean, we can set up an industrial base... we can push down your cost of protection,” he said.

“We can use the Caribbean to export the excess capacities that we create.”