GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC -A team of technical officials from Trinidad and Tobago will visit Guyana and Barbados to inspect port infrastructure as efforts continue to launch a standard transportation ferry system.
A government statement issued here said that the team will visit the two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries within the next two weeks to carry out the inspection.
The statement said that last week, government ministers, technical officers, and other stakeholders met in Port of Spain to discuss the inter-regional ferry system and highlighted each country’s position and perspective.
It said that the ministers took the opportunity to emphasize their commitment to implementing the transportation system and resolutely promote regional food security without compromising public health, security, and safety.
One of the many challenges identified by regional leaders in actualizing the regional objective of reducing the food import bill by 25 percent by 2025 is the difficulty in transporting agricultural goods and people intra-regionally.
“Toward this end, it was identified that the three countries were on the cusp of forming a company to drive the process of introducing a regional ferry service. This company would comprise directors from each country to facilitate operations.
“An inspection of the Galleon Passage in Port of Spain was conducted by ministers and technical officials followed by discussions that centered on the other areas of importance to the proposal for the common transportation system such as plant quarantine, including Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Matters and immigration, and Custom for the movement of people and goods for trade. A system for pre-clearance was also proposed for implementation,” the statement said.
It said that the heads of Customs, Immigration, and Plant Quarantine from Guyana, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago agreed that most systems were already in place and could be adjusted to accommodate this, especially considering the existing Guyana and Suriname ferry service arrangement.
The statement said that during the meeting in Port of Spain, the delegates voiced their opinions on three main areas of immigration, customs, and plant quarantine, and at the end of the meeting, decided that representatives from the three countries would meet to identify and resolve issues and prepare an interim report on harmonizing in one month.
“A target date not exceeding two months was agreed to by all participants to complete the work of pre-clearance procedures for immigration, customs, and plant quarantine. The team agreed to work constantly to make the ferry service a reality as soon as possible,” the statement added.
and then 