BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC -Trade and Economic Development Ministers from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) who met in Guyana last week, have agreed to hold a special meeting early next year to approve and certify a Partial Scope Agreement between Belize and El Salvador.
A government statement at the 59th meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) said that a crucial issue for Belize at the meeting was “the certification and approval” of the agreement.
“Member states agreed to hold a special meeting in early 2025 to approve and certify this agreement. Belize signed a General Framework for this agreement in 2023 and aims to finalize it in 2025,” according to the statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade.
It said that the Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Osmond Martinez, who led Belize’s delegation to the two-day meeting, “also had the opportunity to have an amicable bilateral meeting” with Jamaica’s Foreign Afar and Foreign Trade Minister, Kamina Johnson-Smith, discussing “import requirements for poultry into Jamaica.”
The statement said the minister also held a “successful” bilateral meeting with Barbados’ Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister, Kerrie Druard Symmonds, “on facilitating poultry exports to Barbados.
“Barbados has a keen interest in importing poultry from Belize and inquired about the current stock levels in Belize and whether Belize can fulfill periodic orders. Poultry shipments into the Caribbean represent a significant milestone for Belize,” the statement said.
It said that the COTED meeting sought, among other things, to further the discussions on implementing the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), which allows for the free movement of goods, skills, labor, and services across the region.
The meeting also received updates on CARICOM’s Implementation of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Agreement on Trade Facilitation, which aims to make international trade faster, cheaper, and more efficient. It also heard about the launch of the CARICOM Interactive Marketplace and Suspension Procedure (CIMSUPRO), an electronic platform designed to connect CARICOM producers with buyers.
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