The Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) says it has signed a new agreement with World Trade Organization (WTO) as part of the efforts to reassess and revolutionize existing trading arrangements to increase opportunities for Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
CDB president, Dr. Hyginus “Gene” Leon, and WTO Director-General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that they said will strengthen ties between the two institutions.
They said the agreement is aimed at improving the capacity, accessibility, and availability of trade resources to members of both organizations.
Leon told the signing ceremony in Geneva “this agreement opens doors and expands opportunities for the Caribbean to increase trade, build prosperity and safeguard economic resilience. The latter is significant given the existing high reliance on exports and our acute vulnerabilities”.
For her part, Okonjo-Iweala said the “MOU aims to deliver specific things for the benefit of countries in the region, virtually all of whom are members of the WTO.
“So, for instance, as part of a food security package how can we work together to make sure that the Fisheries Subsidies Agreement is implemented? How do we collaborate on capacity building on fisheries management, how do we get countries to deposit their instruments of acceptance [for the Fisheries Subsidies Agreement] as quickly as possible and how do we work together on gender and trade, including collaboration with ITC.”
The parties said the agreement will increase cooperation and collaboration in trade facilitation and the implementation of the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and its Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies.
It also seeks to accelerate ongoing and future initiatives to reduce Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), address Sanitary and Phytosanitary issues, and create mechanisms for the agencies to partner to improve capacity building, technology, data, and knowledge transfer in tourism, education, culture and entertainment, and professional health and wellness while leveraging technology, public policy support, and innovation.
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