July 10, 2017: Senator the Honourable Paula Gopee-Scoon, Minister of Trade and Industry, commended the European Union and the Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA) on the Workshop entitled “Leveraging the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement” aimed at promoting Caribbean exports to Europe which was held at the Trade and Investment Convention on July 7, 2017.
Delivering the opening remarks, Minister Gopee-Scoon indicated that the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) is the most comprehensive agreement negotiated by the CARIFORUM countries and creates the best opportunity for export expansion and economic development to aid the region’s trade and investment thrust with the European Union.
She stated that “by building the relationship with the EU, new partnerships will be developed which would allow the private sector to better understand the process in entering the European Union Market.” Minister Gopee-Scoon stressed that “a more aggressive approach is required in the utilization of the EPA.” She encouraged the private sector to use the opportunities negotiated under the Agreement to discover new customers, form new partnerships and constantly pursue new growth prospects to diversify exports and build competitiveness.
His Excellency Arend Biesebroek, Head of Delegation of the European Union to Trinidad and Tobago, stated that “we must reinforce the public private dialogue and the private-private dialogue to promote a more effective enabling business environment for Caribbean countries.” The EU Ambassador underscored the importance of creating a business link with Europe. He expressed the willingness of the EU Delegation to assist the private sector in getting their products into Europe.
Mrs. Robertha Reid, Senior Adviser at CEDA, indicated that the intention of the workshop was to help the private sector understand the opportunities under the EPA and increase the number of companies exporting to the EU. She explained the initiatives being undertaken by Caribbean Export to provide trade and business intelligence and build capacity to conduct market research to optimize the EPA.
The workshop consisted of two very informative presentations. The first presentation delivered by Mr. Adam Wisniewski from the European Union provided participants with a comprehensive overview of the details of the EPA. This was followed by Dr. Noel Watson’s presentation on the ways in which exporters can utilize the EPA to increase their market presence in the European Union.
A cross-section of the audience at the “Leveraging the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement” Workshop.
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For further information please contact:
The Corporate Communications Unit
Ministry of Trade and Industry
868-623-2931