SERVICES A PRIORITY

Grenada has identified five pillars of economic transformation and has been making progress in positioning these sectors to take advantage of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between CARIFORUM and the European Union.

According to Minister of Finance, Planning, Economy, Energy and Co-operation, Nazim Burke, “We see the critical need for us as Caribbean persons to focus on services.”

Minister of Finance, Planning, Economy, Energy and 

Co-operation, Nazim Burke, speaking at the opening ceremony 

of the Regional Media Workshop on the CARIFORUM-EU 

Economic Partnership Agreement at The Grenadian this week.

For Grenada, he informed, these services are tourism and hospitality services, education, health and wellness services, agribusiness, energy development and information communication technology services.

He was at the time addressing the opening ceremony of a Regional Media Workshop on the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement at The Grenadian on Monday.

The two-day workshop, which concluded on Tuesday, was hosted by the Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Grenada National EPA Implementation Unit (NEPAIU).

The workshop is supported in part by Caribbean Export, through the 10th European Development Fund (EDF) Regional Private Sector Development Programme (RPSDP). The workshop is also being financed by GIZ. Funding has also come from the Caribbean Aid for Trade and Regional Integration Trust Fund (CARTFund).

According to Minister Burke, the Government of Grenada has focused on creating an appropriate management structure to boost services, creating ministerial sub-committees to provide the necessary policy guidance in each of these five areas, as well as core technical committees to support the work of the ministerial sub-committees.

In addition, a National Trade in Services Consultation on the EPA was held last year to give local professionals and businesspersons a better appreciation of the opportunities that exist within the EU markets. This consultation featured information on entrance requirements to EU markets, as well as the importance of mutual recognition agreements.

This year, the service sector made an important step forward with the establishment of the Grenada Coalition of Service Industries.

The Coalition works closely with the National Implementation Unit and the Ministry of Trade to ensure that local professional associations are formed and participate in the EPA implementation process, both locally and regionally.

Meanwhile, a suite of intellectual property, copyright, patent and trademark legislation has been passed to make Grenada more attractive to professionals, businesses and investors.


Raising awareness about money laundering has also been a priority, since it was recognised that money laundering is not a financial crime confined only to the financial sector.

Consequently, non-financial businesses and professionals were afforded the opportunity to increase their proficiency on the new Financial Crime Legislation passed in Grenada.

That joint undertaking with the Caribbean Joint Financial Task Force sought to ensure that local business practices were in line with sound financial regulation, as prescribed by the EPA.

These advances, maintained Minister Burke, are indicative of the Government’s commitment to boosting the service sector.

“Grenada is poised to continue its development as a safe business environment, where strong brands can be built, maintained and protected,” said Minister Burke. (YA)