OECS Trade Programme Underway

Details

Economy

Wednesday, 06 February 2013 02:30

By caribarena news

Antigua & Barbuda joined the rest of the OECS on Tuesday to usher in a five-year European Union partnered arrangement designed to boost private sector competitiveness in the OECS economic union.

The programme – dubbed the Economic Integration and Trade of the OECS Region – was presented and discussed separately with public and private sector representatives. It is to be implemented in five steps that include enhanced institutional capacity of the OECS, improved and harmonized sectorial policy, synergies with national programmes, and more.

At a meeting in the conference room of the Ministry of Legal Affairs, it was outlined that the Euro 8.6 million programme is specifically designed to contribute to the establishment of the OECS Economic Union as a single economic and financial space, and it is compatible with efforts by OECS member states for CSME implementation.

Two OECS representatives were on hand to answer questions from local industry professionals. According to them, the biggest objective is to promote competitive enhancement and create innovative programmes for small and medium enterprise development.

Further, assistance would be provided through the initiative to OECS exporters to enable them to become internationally competitive through aid in services and grant funding. In-company technical assistance will also be delivered to firms in several areas ranging from productivity to strategic planning.

Colin Murdoch, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Finance, the Economy and Public Administration, Trade, Industry and Commerce, questioned whether adequate provisions were made in the move to facilitate the effective movement of goods from small island states like those of the OECS throughout the larger Caribbean in a manner competitive with bigger states.

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“The problem with Caribbean export is that a lot of the benefits go to the larger countries simply because they have more capacity in terms of accessing the available benefits,” he said. “And the problem in the OECS is that they need help to get the help that is available and a lot of the basic elementary things needed are not often available from many countries.”

He was particularly interested in knowing whether (small) institutions working in a parallel manner in the region had any room for co-operation and collaboration in Caribbean export.

Through the integration programme, the OECS would look at enhancing the IT capacity of the Secretariat and OECS member states, and a Regional Public Education Programme (PEP), designed to engage a broad number of OECS nationals.

A tourism and agriculture aspect is included in the programme, with an additional Euro 4 million available.

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