Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, K.D. Knight, enters a convertible mini cooper motor car that was on display at the International Expo 2005, which ended at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel yesterday. - CONTRIBUTED
MINISTER OF Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, K.D. Knight says Jamaica is preparing for tough negotiations at the upcoming 6th World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Meeting to be held in Hong Kong later this year.
Addressing the International Trade Expo 2005 organised by the Consular Corps of Jamaica on Sunday, Mr. Knight noted that Jamaica and other Caribbean countries are now strategising to ensure that the concerns of the developing world are addressed at the next Ministerial conference.
"The interests of small, vulnerable economies must be addressed and if these interests are not addressed then we cannot be part of any consensus. We are not going there to block the game but we are not going there to be losers at the end of the game," the Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister said. He added that Jamaica will not be party to any agreement that purports to have development at its core yet is inimical to the well being of Jamaicans.
Minister Knight also announced that the third phase of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Commission was recently launched in St. Lucia. This period, he says, will see negotiations with regard to market access and other trade-related issues.
CONSULAR LAUDED
He said the target date for completion of the EPA is December 2007 and the CARIFORUM region (including Cuba and the Dominican Republic) will be required to undertake significant structural and institutional changes to adequately prepare for the anticipated increase in competition across sectors
In the meantime, Minister Knight lauded the Consular Corps of Jamaica for its continued role in facilitating trade between the countries they represent and Jamaica. "I consider the expo to be a complementary mechanism to Jamaica's efforts to effectively engaged in trade at the regional, hemispheric and multilateral levels," he noted.
Minister Knight added that as Jamaica seeks to open doors across the world to our goods, producers and services providers, it is equally important to enable businessmen and entrepreneurs from the countries represented here to be able to attend the expo and identify opportunities for investment, capital formation and job creation.
The International Trade Expo ended yesterday.
