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PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad & Tobago:--- Thirty-two public officials, senior officers and decision makers from several Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) countries gathered in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines this week, to gain a better understanding of the tools needed to provide deeper trade analysis that would support future Economic Union trade negotiations among members of the OECS.
From 14 to 16 November 2017, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), in collaboration with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission, jointly coordinated a capacity development workshop for senior officers from Ministries of Trade, Customs divisions, and Statistics departments, among others. Hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the workshop introduced participants to a suite of cutting-edge digital tools that will bolster their ability to analyse national trade competitiveness.
Delivering the feature address of the Opening ceremony was the Honourable Sir Louis Straker, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade & Commerce of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. In his introductory remarks, Minister Straker underscored the importance of harnessing and managing trade data to address challenges faced by small island states due to competition, high production costs and market access. Illustrating his argument by using the example of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Minister Straker reminded participants of the persistent and vast trade deficit and imbalance with which small island economies continue to struggle.
Explaining the rationale and objective behind the training, the Regional Trade Adviser at the OECS Commission, Mr. Allan Paul, informed the gathering that the workshop responded directly to expressions of interest from OECS Member states for strengthening skills and knowledge in trade data compilation and analytical techniques.
The Coordinator of ECLAC Caribbean’s Economic Development Unit, Sheldon Mc Lean, highlighted the significance of ECLAC’s partnership with the OECS Commission in the coordination of this capacity building effort, given the importance that both organisations ascribed to building trade-related capacity and promoting economic growth and development among ECCU Member states.
Country representatives expressed confidence that the capacity building exercise will allow public sector officials to better inform trade policy formulation, negotiations and implementation of trade agreements.
Trade-related research continues to be a core component of the ECLAC Caribbean work programme, which includes a special focus on the review of trade agreements across the Caribbean.
For further information, please contact Alexander Voccia at alexander.voccia@eclac.org or Denise Balgobin at denise.balgobin@eclac.org. Telephone: (868) 224-8067/224-8075.

ECLAC Press Release