(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Dr Kusha Haraksingh, Chairman of the CARICOM Competition Commission has been attending, since Tuesday 15 July, at the invitation of the Secretary General of UNCTAD, the 9th session of the Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Competition Law and Policy in Geneva.

The meeting was successful in highlighting the profile of the CARICOM Competition Commission, as the world’s newest competition authority, among international institutions and other competition agencies. It also helped to set the groundwork for the involvement of donors and UNCTAD in the provision of technical assistance and capacity building activities for the Caribbean. The meeting was also informed that Dr. Haraksingh's suggestion at the OECD Competition Forum in February in Paris, that attention be paid to the needs and experience of incipient authorities, has been accepted, and will form an important part of the agenda going forward.

The 9th Session also heard the following from the UNCTAD Secretary General in his opening remarks: "In the past, many countries considered competition policy as a luxury, or as inappropriate for countries at early stages of development. It is now more widely acknowledged that competition law and policy can be designed and implemented in such a way as to be an important tool for development. Indeed, if a market-based economy is to bring as many benefits as possible, an effective competition policy is essential. It can be an important tool to build domestic as well as international competitiveness, and to ensure consumer protection."

Dr Haraksingh was particularly pleased that the meeting reinforced his suggestion that while a set of multilaterally agreed principles and rules for the control of restrictive business practices was crucial, the design and implementation of a competition policy should also be attuned to local circumstances, and provide scope for the development of a local jurisprudence in this area. This was particularly important for small developing economies like those in the Caribbean region, which are in the process of establishing their competition agencies.

Geneva
18 July 2008