Latest update March 29th, 2025 5:38 AM

Guyana's largest selling daily and New York's most popular weekly

Latest News

CARICOM-Canada negotiations set for November

Sep 12, 2009 News

Negotiations for a Trade and Development Agreement between the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Canada are set to begin in early November. This was decided at a preparatory meeting between Ministers of both parties held yesterday in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
CARICOM Co-chairman of the session, Senator the Honourable Mariano Browne, Minister of Trade and Industry and Minister in the Ministry of Finance of Trinidad and Tobago said at a press conference following the meeting at the Trinidad Hilton Hotel and Conference Centre that the discussions were conducted in a positive spirit of co-operation and compromise.
Mr Browne is CARICOM’s lead Minister  in the negotiations and also at the meeting were Senator the Honourable Maxine McClean, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Barbados, the Honourable Michael Church, Minister of the Environment, Foreign Trade and Export Development of Grenada, Senator the Honourable Marlene Malahoo Forte, Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica and Senator the Honourable Joanne Massiah, Minister of State in the Ministry of Legal Affairs of Antigua and Barbuda. The Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade and for Asia-Pacific Gateway represented Canada.
Minister Browne said the meeting had set the tone for the negotiations and was a great first step. He also alluded to the development dimension of the negotiations which he said should among other things aid in the development of the institutional capacity of the Region.
Mr Day said the conclusion of the agreement was important as both sides would be working together to provide opportunities for jobs and investment.
The preparatory meeting, he said, had set a framework of principles from which the technical experts could fashion an agreement that would be of mutual benefit. He said that development must accompany trade.
Currently, trade and economic relations between CARICOM and Canada are covered under a number of instruments, including the 1979 CARICOM-Canada Trade and Economic Co-operation Agreement and its Protocols, including the 1998 Protocol on Rum; CARIBCAN which grants unilateral duty free access to eligible goods from beneficiary countries in the English-speaking Caribbean up to 2011.
Two-way merchandise trade between CARICOM and Canada averaged more than $700 million (US) over the last ten years with a surplus averaging more than $60 million (US) in favour of the Region.

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show|| March, 28th, 2025

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Milo/Massy U18 Football heats up with Round III action

Milo/Massy U18 Football heats up with Round III action

Mar 29, 2025

…Two days, eleven matches Kaieteur Sports- After two rounds of scintillating action in the 11th edition of the Milo/Massy Boys’ Under-18 Football Championship, eight teams have managed to...
Read More
BCB bowls off U19 Inter-club Competition today

BCB bowls off U19 Inter-club Competition today

Mar 29, 2025

Nedd, Thorne recalled ahead of final rounds

Nedd, Thorne recalled ahead of final rounds

Mar 29, 2025

Mice and Jermaine $1.7M Linden Futsal tournament starts tonight with three matches at Retrieve Hard Court

Mice and Jermaine $1.7M Linden Futsal tournament...

Mar 28, 2025

Slingerz FC hunt second win tonight

Slingerz FC hunt second win tonight

Mar 28, 2025

More sponsors on board ahead of Second Annual GGA/NSC National Long Drive Championship set for Saturday

More sponsors on board ahead of Second Annual...

Mar 28, 2025

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.

Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]