BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FOLLOWING yesterday’s (Apr. 30) capacity building workshop for service providers organised by the St. Kitts-Nevis Coalition of Services Industries (CSI), President of the body has identified education, information and public awareness as the focal areas in achieving the goals of the Coalition.
The one-day workshop saw representatives from the Trade Policy Unit of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Secretariat and international trade experts engaging local service providers in discussions on export opportunities in the region. The forum was geared to enhance the quality of service offered and provide new markets for local businesses.
CSI President Alfred Harley said he was pleased that the local coalition was able to partner with the OECS Secretariat to assist service providers, and added that high standard of the workshop would attract new members.
“Moving forward, this session would only help to make it easier for us to attract new members because we would be able to expand the scope of trade for businesses here. This would ultimately attract others because the export opportunities would mean an increase in business and an increase in revenue,” he said.
Harley stressed the importance of efficient dissemination of information and the education of service providers as the fundamental elements for the Coalition’s success. He indicated that once service providers and their respective associations fully understand the benefits of the Coalition, the objectives would be immediately realised.
“Educating people as to what we are doing is going to be key going forward, especially as we refer to the [CARICOM Single Market and Economy] CSME. We want to be able to give people a greater understanding already of what the benefits are not only from a local standpoint but also being able to export to any other island.
“We also want the various associations to get a greater understanding of the fact that the Coalition is just an umbrella for their association and does not take away from their individual association. So, education is very critical. The more informed the community is the better we are able to serve them,” Harley added.
The local president informed that although membership recruitment and financing projects pose a number of challenges, education and awareness remain high priority on order for the Coalition to grow. He thanked the Ministry of International Trade for its assistance in making arrangements for a facility to house the Coalition and for its role in its early developmental stages.
The Coalition, established in November 2008, was designed to prepare stakeholders for challenges and opposition of the services regime of the (CSME) and to promote export of services and to be a partner with the public and private sectors in order to soften the impact of competition on businesses in the region, the smaller ones in particular.
To date, the Coalition has 36 registered service providers from across the Federation and is expected to see an increase in the near future.
