(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) A marathon two-day, high-level meeting in London that brought together primarily private sector representatives from the Caribbean and Europe to discuss a way forward to effectively harness the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) came to a close on August 9, with delegates reaffirming their commitment to and interest in “making the Agreement work.”

The 2nd CARIFORUM-EU Business Forum took place under the auspices of the Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export), in collaboration with the African Caribbean & Pacific States Business Climate (ACP BizClim).

Delegates hailing from the Caribbean and Europe and representing a multiplicity of commercial interests acknowledged that while there have been challenges in “getting the EPA off the ground, there is ‘low hanging fruit’ that if harvested effectively and early enough hold significant potential to breathe new life into how the Agreement is being made use of.”

They identified the critical role of initiatives like the Business Forum in showcasing the private sector’s stake in the Agreement, but also in aiding these stakeholders in better making use of it. Caribbean Export came up for high praise from delegates, who hailed the meeting as a success. Participants pledged to redouble their efforts to leverage the EPA, in particular citing business opportunities in the areas of manufacturing and cultural industries that can be advanced. Participants from the Caribbean cited the pivotal role of Caribbean Export, in this regard, while also underscoring that other regional institutions have a key role to play as EPA implementation unfolds, among them the CARICOM Secretariat.

The fifteen signatory Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific (CARIFORUM) States to the EPA are the independent CARICOM Member States and the Dominican Republic.