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24 25 SEPT/OCT 2017 Opening Lines S aint Lucia is nowofficiallyone of the des- tinations in the Caribbeanwhere a node of the RIMwill be located.The Caribbean RIMPlatform Initiative (CRPI) for regional cooperation,investment,and trade has as one of its objectives the establishment of a framework for the stimulation and enhancement of investment and trade relations,including trade in services. The node located in Saint Luciawill serve the entireOrganiza- tion of Eastern Carib- bean States (OECS). This announcement wasmade during the fourthTrade and Investment Confer- ence and the second RIMConference held at EarthUniversity in Costa Rica fromAugust 29-30,2017. Chairperson of the grouping and its adviser,Dr. MarkGriffith,also named the other nodes to include Panama,Barbados,as well as Cuba andHaiti.Guy- anawill serve Guyana and Suriname. Over theyears,Trinidad,Barbados,and Jamaicahave beenthemainbeneficiariesandpromotersof trade and investmentbetweenthe regionandCentralAmeri- ca.TheCaribbeanCommunity(CARICOM) hasapartial scope/bilateral tradeagreementwithCostaRica. Griffith expects a change in that trend and hopes that,following this year’s successful conference in Costa Rica,the Eastern Caribbeanwill featuremore prominently.This viewis well supported byDavid Jordan,chair of FRIEETAD in theOECS Inc.,one of the organizers of the conference,and Ramiro Craw- ford,of Limon Roots in Costa Rica. During the conference,Costa Rica president,Luis Guillermo Solis,also announced Port Limon as one of theprovincesof CostaRicaasaspecial economiczone for the Caribbean.Theconfer- encewasalsoad- dressedbytheMinister for theEnvironment, EdgarGuiterierrez Espelta. Thisyear’sconference wasattendedbybusi- nesspersons,primarily youngentrepreneurs,includingagroupfromEcuador. Thestudentsof theGreenValleyHighSchoolwerealso special guests.DuringtheB2Bsessions,amajor leisure maritime investmentbetweenTrinidadandCostaRica wasexplored,whileBelize,throughHotMamaBelize, alsoexploredavenues to launch its saucesandcon- diments intheCostaRicamarket.Other promoters sought tomarket indigenous clothing designs. Next year’s event is scheduled for the last week inAugust 2018 in either a Caribbean territoryor Central America once again. ST. LUCIA NOWREGIONAL INVESTMENT ANDTRADE DESTINATION