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Tuesday, May 15, 2007 – The Organisation of American States OAS and
the World Bank have organised in collaboration with Saint Lucia's Speaker of the
House of Assembly and Minister for Trade, Industry and Commerce a seminar for
CARICOM Parliamentarians with responsibility for trade issues.
The seminar “Shaping a Trade Agenda to Promote Regional Integration and
Competitiveness for CARICOM: The EPA and other Negotiating Challenges” is also
receiving support by the Commonwealth Parliamentarian Association (CPA).
This regional gathering of trade policy makers and experts is taking place
against the background of the particular challenges faced by CARICOM countries
over the last decade in the era of globalisation and in order to facilitate and
enhance a broad political debate on using trade arrangements to promote regional
integration and competitiveness.
Presentations will be made by several regional and international experts,
including Director General of the CARICOM Regional Negotiating Machinery,
Ambassador Richard Bernal, Professor Havelock Brewster and Geza Feketeuty,
Distinguished Professor, Monterey Institute of International Studies.
Commenting on this OAS initiative, the Organisation's Representative in Saint
Lucia Paul Spencer, stated that it cannot be gainsaid the importance of trade
negotiations currently being undertaken by CARICOM as a group. It is for this
reason that two Members of Parliament from each CARICOM country with portfolios
covering the area of trade and economic development have been invited to
participate in the seminar “in order to ensure that views from a broad political
spectrum are represented.
The opening ceremony of the seminar will be addressed by the Honourable Speaker
of the House Sarah Flood Beaubrun, Minister of Trade, Industry and Commerce,
Senator the Honourable Guy Mayers and OAS Assistant Secretary General Ambassador
Albert Ramdin.
The meeting will be held on Wednesday May 17th, 2007.
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