Business View Caribbean | July 2019

13 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN JULY 2019 OPENING L INES CARIBBEAN EXPORT JOINS FORCES TO LEVERAGE EXPORT-LED GROWTH T he Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) has partnered with the Small Business Association (SBA) of Barbados to host a two-day workshop on leveraging the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). Over 50 exporters from across the region gathered at the Radisson Aquatica Resort to hear from experts from the European Union, Caribbean Export, and the SBA of Barbados on the tools available to support the growth of their export businesses while leveraging the EPA. A central theme to the dialogue, as highlighted by Senator Lynette Holder, CEO of the SBA of Barbados, in her opening remarks, was the importance of strategic partnerships. Holder called for businesses to work together to reap the benefits of the EPA. The CARIFORUM-EU EPA was developed to facilitate integration and regional cooperation; further, the EPA supports enhanced sustainable growth, increased production, and supply capacity. Sandra Husbands, the Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Trade with the government of Barbados, echoed Holder’s sentiment: “We cannot do this alone. Not as individual companies, not as individual islands or countries; but rather we must do this together.” The overall objective of the EPA is the sustainable development of the ACP States and their integration into the world economy and the eradication of poverty. Speaking about the workshop in general, Minister Husbands charged that, “This is a vital part of the strategy toward attaining export-led economic growth and this is what is needed in Barbados at this time.” The Minister went on to encourage the