Caricom-facilitated national EPA consultations “resounding success” –stakeholders

The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) Implementation Unit within the CARIFORUM Directorate of the Caricom Secretariat concluded a week of successive EPA- related meetings in St Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada, respectively on September 30.

The unit collaborated with St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry and the Grenada National EPA Implementation Unit (NEPAIU) to host the meetings.

The centerpiece of the discussions in both states was a national Consultation on Trade in Services in the CARIFORUM-EU/EPA. For St Vincent and the Grenadines, that consultation took place on September 27 in Kingstown.

For Grenada, the activity was convened on September 29 in St George’s. Both engagements targeted national stakeholders spanning the public and private sectors, and civil society, and each was hailed by participants as a “resounding success”. St Vincent and the Grenadines Construction Association President Desmond Pompey said he was better equipped to engage his association’s membership on EPA matters, as a result of his attendance.

Richard Ramdhanny, a representative of Technology Solutions Limited (TSL) – a full service, Grenada- based IT provider – registered “deep satisfaction” that the Grenada consultation was held, but stressed that “there is a need for ongoing, sector-specific EPA sensitisation activities.” Participants at both consultations felt that they had gained a much deeper appreciation of the CARIFORUM/EU/EPA and some of the obligations that CARIFORUM states have undertaken to meet, in addition to a clearer understanding of the benefits and challenges associated with harnessing the agreement.

In this latter consultation, however, environmental services stakeholders were represented.

At their core, both consultations were formatted around presentations from staffers of the EPA unit, national authorities, and roundtable discussions/ presentations led by select industry representatives. Each consultation session also afforded opportunity for participants to hear directly from regional EPA unit staff and staff of national authorities as to what support and follow- up can be expected coming out of the engagement.

Further sensitization

This outreach should also be directed at training in project proposal writing, to build the capacity of sectoral groups to tap into resources available to facilitate their deeper integration into the EPA implementation process.

The advancement of the identification of national technical assistance germane to EPA implementation, and stemming from this prioritisation of relevant project interventions; as well as the further refining of respective states’ EPA services work plans, were deemed priority.

In the margins of these consultations, unit staff met exclusively with officials with responsibility for EPA implementation, to further develop the respective states’ EPA services work plans.

In delivering the feature addresses at both consultations, respective ministers noted the importance of services to their countries.

In the feature address for the St Vincent and the Grenadines consultation, the Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Dr Douglas Slater drew attention to the fact that trade in services accounts for more than 70 per cent of Gross Domestic Product, and contributed significantly to employment creation.

In this regard, he pointed to the importance of maximising use of available European Development Fund and Aid for Trade resources.

He also noted that an EPA Implementation Unit is to be established shortly in St Vincent and the Grenadines, and that it is expected to “build human and institutional capacity within the public sector, as well as support the private sector to take full advantage of opportunities under the EPA.”

At the Grenada consultation, Finance, Planning, Economy, Energy and Cooperatives Minister Nazim Burke underscored that Grenada’s government had identified five sectors to transform the economy in the medium to long term.

He noted that “three of the five transformational sectors are service- oriented.

These three service- oriented transformational sectors are education, health and wellness services; tourism and hospitality services; and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The other sectors are agribusiness and energy development.” The just-concluded consultations form part of a series of public education-styled interventions spearheaded by the regional unit in conjunction with some states.

While these two focused exclusively on services, others before them have dealt with trade in goods and trade-related issues, as well as trade in services.

Forthcoming consultations will incorporate a similar broad-ranging thematic focus.

The 15-signatory Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific (CARIFORUM) States to the EPA are the independent Caricom states and the Dominican Republic.