By Juliet Umeh

The Group Managing Director of AA&R Investment Group, Abdullahi Bashir Haske, has called for deeper regional integration and sustainable financing to unlock Africa’s trade corridors.

Haske made the call at the Africa–Gulf Cooperation Dialogue, held on the sidelines of the Doha Forum in Qatar.

The roundtable convened influential policymakers, investors and industry leaders to examine a central pillar of Africa–Gulf cooperation—strengthening trade corridors, modern port hubs and integrated logistics systems.

Haske emphasised that greater regional harmonisation is essential for Africa to fully leverage its trade potential, drawing parallels with the Gulf Cooperation Council’s unified structures. He highlighted how aligned systems across central banking, visa regimes and trade facilitation would accelerate the continent’s economic transformation.

Referencing the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, he noted its role in reducing trade barriers but cautioned that intra-African mobility remains constrained by restrictive visa processes.

Haske said: “A unified visa system, similar to what exists in the GCC, would significantly increase intra-Africa travel and ultimately boost trade and investment flows. People flow and capital flow remain fragmented, but with the right reforms, Africa can fully unlock its potential.”

Discussions also focused on enabling low-interest, long-term financing to de-risk and expand Africa–Gulf trade opportunities.

Haske underscored that sectors such as agriculture and export manufacturing require patient capital and heavy infrastructure investment.

“Africa remains the place to be—full of opportunity, full of risk and full of returns,” he noted. “But to realise this potential, we must design financing structures that match Africa’s realities, including longer gestation periods for investments, especially in agriculture and strategic value chains.”

The Africa–Gulf Cooperation Dialogue represents a significant step toward crafting a shared blueprint for enhanced trade, investment and connectivity between both regions.

AA&R Investment Group is an emerging conglomerate with a diversified portfolio across multiple sectors of the Nigerian economy, including agribusiness, oil and gas, marine/maritime, support services, logistics and information technology. The company has built a strong reputation for conceptualising, investing in and managing high-potential opportunities across key sectors of the economy. As a holding company, AA&R Investment Group oversees businesses addressing some of Nigeria’s and Africa’s most critical development challenges.