CARICOM says Aid for Trade pivotal to maximising trade agreements

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Tuesday launched its Caribbean Regional Aid for Trade (AFT) Strategy with CARICOM Secretary General Irwin La Rocque saying the strategy will play a pivotal role in allowing member countries to maximise the opportunities available under the various bilateral and multilateral trade agreements they have signed in the past.
LaRocque told the ceremony that while it has taken the region “longer than anticipated” the region has been able to craft an AFT which includes a holistic and comprehensive approach towards competitiveness, adjustment and trade development.
He said given the dynamism, intense competitiveness and deep difficulties of the global economy, small states like those in the Caribbean “must seek all possible avenues to give them a chance at competing in the international marketplace.