ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT BETWEEN CARIFORUM AND EU WILL BENEFIT BOTH SIDES SAYS NEW AMBASSADOR

Roseau, Dominica – February 11, 2008…………………….The Economic Partnership Agreement(EPA) between the European Union and CARIFORUM offers an opportunity for both sides to strengthen trade.

 

This disclosure was made by new Ambassador and Head of Delegation of the European Commission to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, His Excellency, Valeriano Diaz after he had presented his Letter of Credence to the President of Dominica, His Excellency, Dr. Nicholas Liverpool, DAH on Monday.

 

The EPA, essentially a trade and development agreement which covers market access in goods, services and other  trade related issues will allow Caribbean goods to enter the European Union duty free and quota free as from the first of January this year, the new Ambassador stated.

 

“This agreement will offer an opportunity to both sides to strengthen trade relations, an important area for middle-income countries like Dominica, while taking into account the specific characteristics of small island economies. This will surely have beneficial effects also on regional integration,” Ambassador Diaz stated at the Presentation of Credentials.

 

Mr. Diaz added that the “European Union has been supporting, since the very beginning, closer economic integration

as well as functional cooperation in the Caribbean”.

 

His Excellency, Valeriano Diaz replaces His Excellency, Amos Tincani.  (Ends)