X Trade Promotion Organisations Forum (TPO)

TPO Forum Programme

Three sessions are on the agenda of the TPO Forum: the opening ceremony, the plenary session, and the signature of agreements and partnerships.

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony will be held on the morning of the 23rd October 2009. The ACS, Caribbean Export and the Centre for the Facilitation of Investments of Haiti will present their missions and activities as well as their perspectives on the relevance of efficient and proactive trade promotion organisations agencies in the current international context.

Plenary Session: Presentations and discussions

Three main topics will be discussed:

• The evaluation of mechanisms and instruments for the promotion and facilitation of investments in the Greater Caribbean. The prestigious World Bank review Doing Business classifies the countries engaging in institutional reforms to liberalize the business environment. The ITC also rewards each year the TPO of various regions in the world. The classification is the result of policies and shared experiences among the said agencies. The evaluation will be an analysis of the administrative procedures and investments costs in three countries in the region: Colombia, Jamaica and Dominican Republic. It will allow the countries to require support programs to facilitate foreign direct investment promotion and facilitation, in order to create new partnerships in the Caribbean.
• The Caribbean Synergy for the promotion of promising sectors: Natural fibres, cotton, and coconut fibres, as well as tourism are all promising sectors in the region. On the occasion of this forum, the opportunities and development possibilities for these sectors will be highlighted, as well as the possibility for technical assistance from specialised agencies such as the FAO, Caribbean Fashion Industry Forum (CFIF) and the Caribbean Export Agency. Also, the trade promotion organisations will be able to benefit from:
• The establishment of common strategies for the promotion of trade and investments: in this time of crisis and recession in the northern countries, competitiveness and inter-Caribbean co-operation need to be further emphasized.

Signature of trade promotion documents

Two different types of documents will be signed:

• The signature of a resolution by the TPO of the region: the TPO of the region need to come to a better reciprocal knowledge of each other. For that purpose, the emphasis will have to be laid on the efforts undertaken by WAIPA and CAIPA. As an example, it has to be noted that both of them would want Haiti to become a member. This dialogue will also be supported by agencies such as Caribbean Export, the Trade Unit of the OAS, the European Union, Pro-INVEST, FIAS, the IDB, among others.
• The signature of agreements by the CFI: Haiti would want to join the group of countries who do business. To that extent, the objective of the first meeting of that kind in Port au Prince, is to stimulate the dialogue between the TPO of the Caribbean and Haiti. Several questions would need to be discussed, related to investments, and ways to promote and facilitate trade in the region. In the meantime, it is suggested that co-operation agreements should be signed with the agencies that are willing to do so, but also that the CFI become part of the region, signing a co-operation agreement with the partners attending. Brazil and Dominican Republic have already shown interest, while other countries could do so by the end of September.