CARICOM, in partnership with the Ministry of Trade, is working to create more awareness among even more stakeholders as it relates to the CARICOM Single Market and Economy.

This drive to create awareness about CSME is one component of the CARICOM Trade and Competitiveness Project.

Several workshops have been held across the region in this regard and specific stakeholder groups have been targeted.

Beginning January 26th, a training and sensitization workshop convened under this component of the project, Component 300.

Barbara Jacob-Small is a consultant for this program. She revealed the objective of Component 300.

“Coming out of these activities, we will have a wider and more efficient flow of information because one of the problems that CARICOM nationals have always cited with the CSME is that they don’t know what’s happening, that they don’t have information.”

She added, “You find that because of that kind of information flow intervention, it will be much easier to do that kind of research and to track the economic impact of the CSME.”

Jacob-Small also said that one of the important things to note when implementing large projects like the CSME is to be able to do research, measure and evaluate.     

 Jacob-Small gave a brief recap of the previous components.

“Under Component 100, the focus was to put the policy or legislative environment in place. Component 200 dealt with issues to do with licensing, accreditation and certification across the space.”

According to the consultant, “The CSME is one of the landmark development undertakings in the history of the Caribbean."