On the occasion of official launch of the Aid for Trade Strategy of CARICOM, to be held in Petionville on June 11, 2013 where more than 100 delegates from Europe and North America are expected. "The International Trade Centre (ITC) welcomes the new regional aid for trade strategies of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and offers its support to the group of 15 members States for its implementation," declared Friedrich von Kirchbach, country Program Director of the ITC, which represent the ITC.

Mr. von Kirchbach will participate in a round table on the main elements of this strategy during this one-day event entitled "From market access, to the presence on the market".

"Countries in the region have understood very well that export diversification is their best chance to accelerate their economic growth [...] The ITC has extensive experience in the region and beyond, in terms of assistance in the implementation of strategies, realization of ideas in the field and the achievement of sustainable long-term growth," said von Kirchbach.

Explaining that "economic performance of most countries in the region was not very bright ; it also suffered of a significant decline in revenues from tourism, following the 2008 financial crisis. Countries in the region have access to international markets through multilateral, regional and bilateral trade agreements ; the strategy identifies ways to transform this market access in presence on the markets for exporters of the region.

The strategy is a tool to create a consensus among the members States of CARICOM around priorities to achieve greater diversification of the regional economy. It presents a coherent approach to resource mobilization, which provides donors, investors and other international development partners an overview of how members intend to use resources.

The next step for the strategy, will consist in the identification of non-traditional export sectors with high potential. The private sector must play a role in the identification of these priority sectors and in the creation of export strategies on the regional and national plan [...] The objectives of the new strategy can not be achieved without the commitment and active participation of the private sector."

Adding that "the economic diversification requires new skills, market information and capacity building of exporters and suppliers of services and aid for trade. The smaller economies are not able to provide the support services required to trade, but according to the strategy, it is possible to achieve economies of scale through regional cooperation."

Learn more about ITC :

ITC is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. It assists small and medium enterprises in developing countries and in economic transition to become more competitive in the global market, contributing to sustainable economic development in the framework of program of aid for trade and the Millennium Development Goals.

HL/ HaitiLibre