Caribbean economic integration workshop to be hosted in Dominica

A three-day regional workshop aimed at promoting regional economic integration as part of an International Financial Corporation (FIC) implemented initiative to automate the Bureau of Standards’ clearance for imports began here Wednesday.

“With this initiative we seek to help government agencies connect more efficiently, thus making import clearance easier and reducing logistics costs that are still a challenge for many businesses in the region,” said IFC trade logistics specialist Lazare Ristic.

The workshop is being attended by delegates from Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St. Kitts, St. Lucia and the host country and is also intended to simplify and harmonize trade procedures.

The workshop will introduce the harmonized system of classification of goods, that allows different institutions to share and process information more easily, thereby improving trade logistics.

IFC is supporting the English speaking Caribbean, in partnership with AusAID and Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to promote trade logistics reforms and Ristic said that the involvement of the private sector is critical in that regard.

“We have identified various things; everything related to port operation simplifying or reducing the various things when it comes to port operations, interconnectivity among government agencies working on the boarder and behind the boarder and is something that we have to work better on and involving private sector in the overall reform process,” he said.

Director of the Dominica Bureau of Standards, Dr. Steve John, said IFC is an important partner in their “efforts to modernize and automate our processes so that we offer a better service to the private sector in Dominica, the training session is a stepping stone that will help us communicate better with customs officials, other government institutions in Dominica, and Bureaus of Standards in the Caribbean”.

(CMC)

Details

Date Posted

May 09 2013