The Barbados Advocate - June 12, 2006

IT took place on the occasion of the Annual General Meeting of the Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce (CAlC).
President of the CAIC, James Moss-Solomon characterised the Business Forum as "an important tool to strengthen the commercial and economic relations between respective private sectors".

Moss-Solomon noted further that he met with Dominican private sector interests in Santo Domingo in January this year, to push ahead with the Business Forum. "There is a clear interest on both sides to advance this Forum, which will be a critical plank for dialogue facilitating increased trade between CARICOM and the Dominican Republic," he was quoted as telling RNM Update.

He noted that as regards CAIC's initiatives to increase dialogue and understanding between CARICOM and Dominican private sectors, CAlC representatives met with counterparts in the Bahamas last month. There they "agreed on how to mitigate any possible negative effects to commercial interests of Law 173. We want to ensure that this law not be a deterrent to trade; and so the understanding we were able to reach last month is a major achievement," the CAlC official said.

Provision is made in the Agreement establishing the CARICOM-DR FTA for this private sector forum, which is intended to: analyse trade and investment opportunities; exchange business information; organise business encounters; discussions and analyses on private sector proposals for the areas to be negotiated such as services, investment, government procurement, among others; promote a speedy decision making process; assist, wherever possible, in the solution of conflicting private sector groups; and, deal with any other relevant matters including those referred to it by the Joint Council. The meeting was followed by the Private Sector Meeting with CARICOM Ministers of Trade and Ministers of Finance.