Business View Caribbean | August 2022

27 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 9, ISSUE 8 ARUBA TRADE & INDUSTRY ASSOC I AT ION BVC: What type of education programs and networking events do you offer? Henriquez: “Every year we do programs on labor law. We do training through our official Customs Declarations portal, where companies can participate to train their staff. That is a big one. Also, people management, HR programs. When I came on board, we added a financial education line with a CPE-certified company in The Netherlands, where we do specific financial training for companies that are under the supervision of the Central Bank. That was a real success last year. “We also organized an in-person business mixer for networking at the end of September and that was sold out. The new Minister for Economic Development was our guest and I had a ‘fireside chat’ with him on the stage, where we got to ask reform package, together with The Netherlands, where reforms on basically all areas and sectors of the island should have to be implemented. What ATIA has to look at from a business standpoint are the areas of tax reform, labor reform, and the elimination of red tape. There is also social reform where they’re looking into an unemployment package. Education, the hospital, government spending are also being looked at over the next two years. “It will make our economy more robust, even more resilient, and also more modern. We have a lot of outdated laws and change is not fun but we have to do it to become more competitive in the region. ATIA has really been advocating for many of these points over the years and continues to be a strong voice of support for change in the government.”