Regional stakeholder consultation to look at making CSME more effective

Regional stakeholder consultation to look at making CSME more effective
CARICOM Secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana — The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) secretary-general, Irwin LaRocque, is hosting on behalf of the lead head of government for the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), a stakeholders consultation on the CSME on 8-9 June 2018 in Guyana. State and non-state stakeholders will examine the CSME and its implementation as currently configured and identify what is necessary to make it more effective and used.

The findings and recommendations from the consultation are intended to be considered by the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) and also to inform the review of the CSME being undertaken by the CARICOM conference of heads of government which will continue in a special session at its upcoming meeting next month.

The two-day activity will engage via a series of panels on what the CSME objectives and priority measures should be; a more and effective CSME; the free movement of persons and public awareness.

Almost 50 participants are expected to gather in Guyana for the consultation. The event is being facilitated with assistance from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

Prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, and former prime minister of Jamaica, Bruce Golding, are scheduled to participate in the consultation.

Both Gonsalves and Golding will be engaging in a high-level session focused on making the CSME more effective. That session takes place on the first day of the consultation and will be chaired by Joseph Cox, assistant secretary-general, trade and economic integration, CARICOM Secretariat.

Following the high-level session, a series of panels will discuss whether the CSME as currently configured sufficiently supports sustainable growth and development and the free movement of skills and persons as an integrating measure among other areas.

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This article was first printed on caribbeannewsnow.com.