Robert Lalah, Staff Reporter
Arnold Foote (left), dean of the Consular Corps of Jamaica, chats with Russian Ambassador Igor Lebeder at the launch of International Trade Expo 2005 at the Pegasus Hotel, New Kingston, yesterday. - NORMAN GRINDLEY/DEPUTY CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
IT'S THAT time of year again, when the Consular Corps of Jamaica gets set to host business people from across the globe at its annual International Trade Expo. This year, the event will be held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston from October 9 to 11.
Yesterday, ambassadors from several nations, as well as members of the consular corps and the private sector, got together to kick things off. Arnold Foote, dean of the Consular Corps of Jamaica, said this year's event promises to be bigger and better than ever.
This is the third year of the trade expo, which sees representatives of several nations showcasing the goods and services they have on offer, at booths set up inside the New Kingston hotel. Mr. Foote said the main objectives behind the expo are to develop international cooperation through trade, and to re-establish Kingston as an international business centre and tourist destination.
There is no limitation or specific theme to the expo, so representatives of participating countries are free to display whatever they choose.
If the testimonies of some of last year's participants are anything to go by, then the trade expo is definitely nothing to sneeze at. Brazilian Ambassador Cezar Amaral said when his country participated in the expo for the first time last year, he could not have imagined how beneficial it would have turned out to be. "For the first three months of this year, our exports to Jamaica increased by 91 per cent," he said.
Scotiabank is sponsoring the event and the company's chairman and chief executive officer, William 'Bill' Clarke, was on hand yesterday to present a cheque to Mr. Foote.
INVESTOR OPPORTUNITY
Mr. Clarke called on local investors to pay keen attention to the offerings on display by other nations, in an effort to better understand market trends. "It is going to be incumbent on Jamaican investors to ensure that they get involved in industries that are going to make us attractive to other nations," he said.
Among the 40 countries set to participate in the expo are Turkey, Poland, Botswana, Spain, Slovakia and Malaysia, which requested two booths this year.
The icing on the cake, according to Mr. Foote, will be an international cultural gala which will be held at Emancipation Park on October 8. This event is open to the public and features cultural performances by groups from countries participating in the trade expo. Last year, more than 10,000 persons turned out for the gala.
