Business View Caribbean | December 2019

6 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN DECEMBER 2019 Caribbean Export’s Officer in Charge, explained, “Participating in activities of this magnitude is critical for us as a development agency. We have to ensure that the Caribbean is well- positioned within the African, Caribbean, and Pacific grouping and that the great contribution the region’s private sector is making towards our economic development is not only recognized and acknowledged, but also supported by legislative frameworks.” The ACP Fashion Show, curated by Rodney Powers of the Caribbean Market Center, and Socrates McKinney of Dominicana Moda, presented pieces from the Caribbean Fashion Showroom and the collection created during the Agency’s Caribbean Fashion Accelerator Pt. 2 program. One of the highlights of the show was the collection of contemporary shirts from the Dominican Association of Chacabana Producers (ACHADOM), which attracted a lot of interest from the male dignitaries in attendance. In addition to the ACP Fashion Show, Caribbean Export presented their initiatives supported by the CARIFORUM Directorate and the European Union under the 11th EDF Regional Private Sector Development and Haiti-Dominican Republic Bi- National Programs within the ACP Business Village, including the work of “Manos Dominicanas”, a program of the Vice President of the Dominican Republic, H.E. Margarita Cedeño, which supports the economic empowerment of women through the design, creation, and selling of craft products. This event also showcased the talent of other ACP regions via the participation of the Fashion Council of Fiji, made possible by the Pacific Island Forum, and the Congolese-Italian company, Samboue. This fashion extravaganza presented a practical example of intra-ACP and ACP-EU collaboration, showing how culture can unite our countries while securing a better future for our people. We have to ensure that the Caribbean is well-positioned within the African, Caribbean, and Pacific grouping