Former Barbadian Prime Minister Owen Arthur, who has been a leading proponent of the CSME recently reminded us that “delays in carrying out regional economic and financial integration, as contemplated under the CSME, will compromise severely the region’s capacity to take advantage of new economic partnership agreements with our major trading partners, or to fit the regional economy into the evolving global economy”.
While he recognized that the recently signed EPA was not a perfect agreement, he defined it as an important instrument of economic engagement and cooperation, which if used properly, would help the region build new competitive industries. I noticed that the theme of your Banquet and Awards Ceremony this evening is “Fostering Development through Partnership”.