feb-2018c

OPENING LINES C OSME,a EuropeanUnion-funded programcommitted to pro- viding support to CaribbeanOverseas Countries andTerritories (OCT) entrepreneur sustainabilityand inspiring growth,hosted a two-dayworkshop for trade and policydialogue on Feb.8–9, 2018,in Curacao. COSME is a 54-month programwith the responsibility to disperse €15 million to projects benefitting participating Caribbean territories.The program’s overall objective is to contribute to the sustainable and cli- mate-resilient economicdiversification and prosperityof CaribbeanOCTs by improving the competitiveness of small andmedium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the participating territories. Entrepreneurs around theworld focus on economies of scale in order to staycompetitive.TheCaribbeanOCTshave thepossibilityto leverage their collectivepower throughregional collaboration intradeand investment. Workshopfacilitator,PauricBrophy(IrishRepublic),leddiscussionsonhow OCTscancontinue toreinforce their collaboration inthe fieldof tradeand investmentpost-COSME. TheworkshopattractedparticipationfromallCaribbeanOCTs,except the Cayman IslandsandSt.Barthélemy.Theobjectivesof theworkshopwere to: n Explore thecreationof a regional (OCT) tradeand investmentpolicy workinggroup n Increase thecapacityofparticipants toanalyze,commenton,formulate and implement tradeand investmentpolicydecisions n Support thebuildingof strongerpartnershipswithother stakeholders and institutions that support regional collaboration intradeand investment. The level of interactionensuredmeaningful andhigh-level consensus for dialogue tochart apathforward.MarlonPenn,BVI JuniorMinister forTrade, said,“Thediscoursewas indeedfruitful.Whatneeds tobedonenowis to take steps to foster greater collaboration in the area of trade and investments. OCTs need to proceed as a collective unit.It is nowtime to act.” CaribbeanOCTentrepreneurs continue to demonstrate their strength and,through enabling trade and investment policies,theycan continue to growand scale their operations further,increasing their contributions to the economy. TRADE AND INVESTMENT CONFERENCE SETS ACTIONABLE HIGH LEVEL DISCUSSIONS INTHE CARIBBEANOVERSEAS TERRITORIES