Jamaica’s rural agricultural producers will soon be more equipped to benefit from the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). This is due to a one-day CSME sensitization workshop to be convened by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat this Wednesday, November 30. Approximately 40 participants from agricultural bodies and related public sector entities will converge at the Golf View Hotel in Mandeville, Manchester for the event. The activity is facilitated under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF) CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and Economic Integration Programme (EIP). This represents a valuable opportunity for rural producers to gain information about the CSME and learn about its significant advantages for their sector.
Presentations will be delivered by resource persons from the CARICOM Secretariat and will include topics such as the current status of the CSME and facilitating agricultural trade and investment in the CSME. There will also be a presentation on the status of Jamaica’s implementation of the CSME and particularly as it relates to agriculture. The presentations will be followed by dialogue sessions in which participants can share their experiences and clarify issues surrounding the CSME. At the end of the workshop, participants should have a better appreciation of the benefits of the CSME for farmers and agricultural producers generally. This workshop marks the culmination of a series of CSME-sensitization sessions for the private sector and rural communities in 6 member states including Barbados, Belize, Guyana, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Suriname.
Jamaica will also benefit from an additional CSME sensitization activity when the Secretariat hosts a public awareness session on the facilitation of travel on Thursday, December 1 at Merl Grove High School. Participants will be informed about their rights and responsibilities as CARICOM nationals travelling within the CSME for work, leisure or business.
Download Press Release here: PR1732016 CSME Sensitization for Jamaicas Rural Community
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat is ensuring that key stakeholders are knowledgeable about the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) and how they can maximise benefits under the CSME processes. On Monday, September 12, the Secretariat is convening a one-day CSME sensitization workshop for the private sector in Jamaica at The Pegasus Hotel. Approximately 35 participants from Jamaica’s corporate community are expected to attend the event. The CARICOM team will be headed by Assisitant Secretary-General for Trade and Economic Integration, Mr. Joseph Cox.
The CARICOM Secretariat is pressing ahead with its public education programme regarding the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). It will be hosting a series of three (3) public sensitisation sessions on the facilitation of travel within the CSME. The first of these will be held in Dominica on Friday, September 9 and a wide cross-section of the public is expected to attend. These sessions are being facilitated by resource persons from the Secretariat and implemented with assistance provided under the 10th European Development Fund (EDF). The other two (2) sessions will be held later in Guyana and Jamaica.
The public sensitization exercise will cover the provisions for free movement and travel under the CSME regimes such as those for CARICOM Skilled Nationals and the Right of Establishment, for example. The aim is to inform CARICOM citizens of their rights and responsibilities as they move within the CSME for reasons related to employment, leisure or business. Members of the public will also be apprised of the CARICOM Complaints Procedure if they feel that they were hindered from accessing their rights under any of the regimes. At the end of these sessions, participants should be better informed about the provisions for free movement and how to make use of them as CARICOM nationals.
The session will be held at the Goodwill Christian Union Church and officials from Dominica’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade will be in attendance. This public awareness activity is part of a larger public education strategy to promote the CSME as an important platform for achieving the goal of regional integration and an improved quality of life for all citizens of the Caribbean Community.
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"community must take rightful place in int’l trade blocs"
