(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Trade Ministers from across the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will tackle a heavy agenda when they gather in Georgetown from Thursday for the Thirty-First Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development.

Officials met at the CARICOM Secretariat Headquarters in Georgetown on Monday and Tuesday to hold preliminary discussions and make recommendations to the Ministers.

The CARICOM Single Market and Economy is high on the agenda and focus will be placed on the assessment of the factors and circumstances that constrain full participation of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and Belize in the CSME.

The agenda also pays attention to matters that include positioning Haiti to be ready to begin the trade in goods regime of the CARICOM Single Market (CSM).

Amb. Irwin LaRocque, Assistant Secretary-General Trade and Economic Integration, CARICOM Secretariat, said Tuesday that discussions at COTED were focused on how to facilitate Haiti to become ready to trade in goods.

He said a proposal was on the table and had found favour among the trade officials in the first round of discussions that would allow Haiti to trade in some items. The list of items had not been finalized.

“COTED is in session, and Haiti is very much present here. Haiti has, in fact, been doing as much as it can to take its seat in the Community in terms of getting ready to trade in the context of the CSME and there are discussions going on as to how the Community can facilitate Haiti in such an instance,” Amb LaRocque said at a media clinic held ahead of the Thirty-first Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government.

Bearing in mind that agriculture was critical to the development of Haiti which was devastated following the January 12 earthquake, Amb Larocque said that the view of meeting was that it would help greatly in rebuilding from the disaster if the people of Haiti could feed themselves, trade and work.

The COTED will also review the Agreement establishing the Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA). The Agreement was signed in Roseau, Dominica, during the Twenty-first Inter-sessional Meeting of the Heads of Government, and CAHFSA was inaugurated in March in Suriname. The agency is aimed at facilitating greater trade in agricultural products among Member States and between the Community and external partners.

Amb. LaRocque said some elements of the Agreement may need minor adjustments to allow the entity to operate smoothly. The operationalisation of COTED is contingent upon the mobilisation of resources for which discussions have already begun with International Development Partners. The preliminary budget for CAHFSA’s start-up is in the vicinity of US$750 000. It is anticipated that CAHFSA would be in place by early next year.

Other matters on the COTED agenda are negotiations for the CARICOM-Canada Trade and Development Agreement, the implementation of the CARICOM-EC Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), and consideration of the Annual Report of the Board of the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Oversight System (CASSOS).

Contact:  piu@caricom.org