Roseau, Dominica – July 27, 2010……….. A two-day National Consultation on negotiations for a new CARICOM-Canada Trade and Development Agreement is scheduled to take place in Roseau from July 29-30, 2010.
Participants will gather at the Fort Young Hotel on Thursday, July 29th 2010 for the first day of deliberations. The second day of deliberations will take place on Friday, July 30th in the Conference Room, Ministry of Trade.
The consultation is being organised by the Ministry of Employment, Trade, Industry and Diaspora Affairs in collaboration with the Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) of the CARICOM Secretariat and the OECS Secretariat.
The consultation has four broad objectives, namely:
- Increase awareness of private sector stakeholders and public sector officials about the negotiations for a CARICOM-Canada Trade and Development Agreement, including awareness of the scope, objectives and rationale of such an Agreement
- Indicate to private sector stakeholders the trading opportunities for goods and services from Dominica/OECS/CARICOM into Canada that justifies negotiating this agreement
- Discuss the implications of the proposed text and negotiating proposals for CARICOM generally and the OECS in particular, with a view to obtaining feedback from public and private sector stakeholders on key issues which should be taken into account in finalizing the draft text(s) and negotiating proposals
- Identify areas of particular concern and interest to Dominica which should be taken into account in the negotiations for a Trade and Development Agreement with Canada
The consultation will begin with an opening ceremony on Thursday, July 29th and will feature an address by the Minister for Employment, Trade, Industry and Diaspora Affairs, Hon. Colin McIntyre. Remarks will be delivered by officials from the OECS Secretariat and the Office of Trade Negotiations. The opening ceremony will begin at 9.am.
Important matters on the agenda for deliberation include:
- Overview of CARICOM- CANADA negotiations for a Trade and Development Agreement
- Trade in Goods to include implications of CARICOM-Canada Negotiations for Market Access in Goods(trade liberalization, modalities, rules of origin, agriculture, fisheries, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures)
- Trade in Services and Investment
- The effect of Labour and Environmental issues in the negotiations
The Media is invited to the opening ceremony, scheduled for Thursday, July 29th at 9am at the Fort Young Hotel. A press conference will take place on Friday, July 30th at 11.30am in the Conference Room, 4th floor Ministry of Trade.
Canada is playing an increasingly important role in the region. Canada and the Caribbean enjoy a long history of close commercial, investment, cultural and political ties. Canada is one of Dominica’s traditional bilateral partners.
The Government of Canada, through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) provides assistance to the Caribbean through a new regional programme, as well as bilateral programmes in a number of Caribbean countries.
A new CARICOM-Canada Trade and Development Agreement is expected to lead to deeper and closer ties between the Caribbean region and Canada.
