Private Sector To Examine 2012 Global Trade Environment
(Bridgetown, 2 February 2011) - The Barbados Private Sector Trade Team (BPSTT) will host a panel discussion focusing on Barbados’ ability to compete in the international trade arena on Monday, 13 th February from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Titled “Small Island Trading in a Big World – Can we Compete?” The event will examine the challenges faced by Barbadian enterprises engaged in international trade, and will feature representatives of key areas in the private sector.
“As we look at international trade in 2012, the key for smaller countries like Barbados will be to focus on finding ways to be competitive in the ever-changing global environment,” said Joel K. Richards, Trade Consultant with the BPSTT. “While tourism continues to take its place as one of the primary sources of foreign exchange for Barbados, there needs to be an awareness of the role that trade in other fields can play in our efforts to improve the country’s economic standing.”
Panelists for the session at the Accra Beach Hotel will be Mr. Richard Cozier - CEO of Banks Holdings Limited; Ms. Lynette Holder – CEO of the Barbados Small Business Association and Mr. Terry Bascombe – Coordinator of the Barbados Competitiveness Programme.
Following the panel discussion, the Barbados Private Sector Trade team will launch an enhanced website designed to better meet the needs of members of the private sector interested in trade.
“The upgraded website will offer large and small private sector interests a web portal that will provide constant updates on the status of Barbados’ trade negotiations, as well as a place for conducting research in specific trade areas,” continued Richards. “The site will contain an extensive library of questions and answers and specific information dealing with the Economic Partnership Agreement between CARIFORUM and the European Union as well as historical information on Barbados’ trade agreements as well as agreements negotiated within CARICOM and other bodies such as the World Trade Organisation.”
The panel discussion and the upgrade to the BPSTT website are both part of an initiative to make trade-related information more accessible to the private sector funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development’s Caribbean Aid for Trade and Regional Integration Trust Fund (CARTFund), which is being administered by the Caribbean Development Bank.
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| Date Posted | February 02 2012 |