By CARICOM
Photos: CARICOM
Above Photo: [Dr. Carla Barnett, CARICOM Secretary-General (2nd, l), addresses the opening of COTED. Also in photograph are, from left, Amb. Wayne McCook, CARICOM Assistant Secretary-General, CARICOM Single Market and Trade (CSMT); Chair of the Meeting, Senator, the Hon. Paula Gopee-Scoon, Minister of Trade and Industry of Trinidad and Tobago, and Dr. Chantal Ononiwu, Director, External Trade, CSMT]
Below Photo: [Chair of the 58th COTED Meeting, Senator, the Hon. Paula Gopee-Scoon Minister of Trade and Industry of Trinidad and Tobago]
CARICOM Ministers with responsibility for trade held a two-day meeting this week at the CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana.
Senator the Hon. Paula Gopee-Scoon, Minister of Trade and Industry of Trinidad and Tobago, is the Chair the 58th Regular Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED).
At the opening session, Minister Gopee-Scoon highlighted the matters on the Ministers’ agenda, including the movement of Community nationals, the status of the CARICOM Competition Commission, a mergers and acquisitions policy, trade in goods, and the review of the Common External Tariff (CET) and Rules of Origin (ROO). The Ministers also held discussions on CARICOM Regional Standards.
On the external economic and trade relations front, the Ministers received updates on the 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and negotiations on the expansion of preferential market access under the CARICOM-Colombia Trade, Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement. Talks were also held on the CARICOM- United States Trade Relations.
In welcoming the delegates to the meeting, Dr. Carla Barnett, CARICOM Secretary-General, underscored the “vitally important mandate” of COTED. She noted that the meeting consider and decide on plans and programmes that will have a significant impact on trade and business performance throughout the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). She expressed the hope that longstanding issues that are on the agenda will be brought to finality.
The meeting ended on Wednesday 15 May.
