Category: St. Vincent & the Grenadines

Caribbean represented at royal wedding

Michelle Nurse Leave a comment
The newlywed royals (Photo via Kensington Palace)

The Caribbean was well represented on Saturday at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Markle, now the Duchess of Sussex, requested a flower from all 53 countries of the Commonwealth embroidered on her veil for the #royalwedding.

Caribbean flowers on the veil

United Kingdom Ambassador to CARICOM, Her Excellency Janet Douglas, tweeted the list of the Caribbean flowers that were featured on the Duchess’veil.

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CARICOM, CDB to host first regional workshop for National Human Resource Development Coordinators

Jascene Dunkley-Malcolm Leave a comment

The CARICOM Secretariat and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) are collaborating to host the first regional workshop aimed at strengthening national capacity to support the 2030 Human Resource Development Strategy (2030 HRDS).

The workshop targets National Coordinators responsible for the coordination, monitoring and reporting associated with the implementation of the Strategy at the national level. It will be held at the Courtyard Marriott in Barbados, May 22-24, 2018. (more…)

‘Purpose fit solutions’ needed to close CSME implementation gap

Michelle Nurse Leave a comment
Chairman of COTED, the Hon. Chet Greene, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Immigration of Antigua and Barbuda
“As a region we are not where we want to be with the implementation of the CSME, and as we consider the sub items on the agenda we must do so in a manner to report and achieve progress going forward.”- Chair of COTED, the Hon. Chet Greene
As Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ministers with responsibility for trade meet in Georgetown, Guyana, calls have been made to ramp up the implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).

The Ministers are in Georgetown for the two-day Forty-Sixth Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) which opened on Wednesday at the CARICOM Secretariat. The CSME is one of the main agenda items of the Meeting.

Speaking at the opening session, both Chair of the Meeting, the  Hon Chet Greene, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Immigration of Antigua and Barbuda, and Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, CARICOM Secretary-General, placed emphasis on the CSME and wanted swifter action on its implementation.

“…Article 15 section 2 (b) confers on this Council the responsibility to, “promote the development and oversee the operations of the CSME”. As a region we are not where we want to be with the implementation of the CSME, and as we consider the sub items on the agenda we must do so in a manner to report and achieve progress going forward. Certainly, the confidence of our people and our businesses within the integration process must not be shattered”, Minister Greene said.

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COTED must position itself to address rapidly changing trade environment – Chair

Michelle Nurse Leave a comment
The Hon. Chet Greene, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Immigration of Antigua and Barbuda, and Chair of COTED, makes remarks. Also in picture, are, from left, Ms. Corlita Babb-Schaefer, CARICOM General Counsel, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, CARICOM Secretary-General,, Mr. Joseph Cox, CARICOM Assistant Secretary-General, Trade and Economic Integration, and Dr. Richard Brown, Director, Single Market and Sectoral Programmes

The rapidly changing trading environment demands that the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) find an “appropriate mix of methodologies and strategies” to address the Council’s expanding agenda.

This is according to the Hon. Chet Greene, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Immigration of Antigua and Barbuda, who is chairing the Forty-Sixth Meeting of the COTED.

In remarks at the opening session of the Meeting at the CARICOM Secretariat on Wednesday 16 May, 2018, the Minister referred to both internal and external trade matters that could impact the Community’s progress towards sustained economic prosperity. These include the implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), market access for products, the review of the Common External Tariff (CET), the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), the future of trade with the United Kingdom after BREXIT and  the impasse between the USA and China. (more…)

 

COTED plays crucial role in advancing integration – CARICOM SG

Michelle Nurse Leave a comment
CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque

CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, said matters under consideration at the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) presented an opportunity to provide solutions that would advance the regional integration movement.

He was speaking on Wednesday morning at the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana, during the opening session of the Forty-Sixth Meeting of the COTED.

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