BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – SENIOR Trade Officer within the Ministry of International Trade, Finance, Industry, Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Samuel Berridge recently represented the nation at a high-level dialogue between trade officials held in Jamaica.
Themed “Accelerating Trade Integration in the Caribbean: Policy Options for Sustained Growth, Job Creation, and Poverty Reduction and to adopt a concrete action plan for its implementation in the region”, the February 17-18 trade discussion, brought together top trade officials from across the region to discuss the report jointly produced by the Organization of American States (OAS) and the World Bank.
Berridge told SKNVibes that the meeting was “quite successful” as the region’s trade officials were able to meet with experts from international financial institutions to exchange ideas about the way forward for the Caribbean. He informed that the OAS/World Bank report included seven primary policy themes which formed the base of the two-day discussions.
Policy themes included strengthening the region’s macroeconomic framework; accelerating national trade policy reforms and improving investment incentives; accelerating the implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and Cariforum/EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). Other issues relating to developing a long-term trade strategy, reinforcing regional institutions and mobilizing aid for trade were also tabled.
He said the discussions are expected to encourage governments and development partners to adopt concrete action plans in relation to the policy themes.
“One of the first actions we have to undertake is to have a consultation with all the relevant stakeholders, both government and the private sector. We are expected to discuss the interventions made based on the policy themes and we are to provide feedback to the OAS and the World Bank. They would then incorporate them into a revised report.
“We are living in an integrated global market and we are not insulated from what happens in international markets. I am confident that we have sufficient regulations at the sub-regional level to provide us with a cushion but we are already feeling the effects of the financial crisis. Thus it is critical for us to sit down and strategize and look for options for the region to achieve the desired level of growth,” Berridge said.
The Senior Trade Officer noted that there is a need for the region to “come up with an action plan” for its tourism and manufacturing sectors as he views their development critical in order to enhance CARICOM’s competitiveness and trade in general.
Discussion at the local level is expected to continue as trade and finance officials aim to revise the nation’s trade strategy. Detailed feedback from the Federation would be submitted to the OAS and World Bank and would be subsequently addressed in the organizations’ May 4 meeting in Jamaica.
