Canada preparatory talks to start in Trinidad
Published:Thursday | September 10, 2009 | 3:31 PM
Trinidad and Tobago\'s Trade and Industry Minister Mario Browne will lead a Caribbean Community (CARICOM) delegation that will lay the groundwork for negotiations with Canada on a trade development agreement, according to a report on www.cananews.net.
The CARICOM Secretariat announced on Wednesday that the talks are \"intended to set the tone for and finalise the scope of negotiations as well as arrive at a mutual understanding on the treatment of development in the negotiations\".
The talks which open in Trinidad on Friday will see the Minister of International Trade and Minister of the Asia -Pacific Gateway Stockwell Day leading the Canadian delegation.
The CARICOM Secretariat said that Browne will be joined by the ministers of trade from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Grenada and Jamaica, who were designated by the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) to represent the region.
It is expected that the negotiations will formally begin later this year.
Currently, trade and economic co-operation relations between CARICOM and Canada are covered under a number of instruments, including the 1979 CARICOM-Canada Trade and Economic Co-operation Agreement (CARIBCAN) and its protocols, including the 1998 Protocol on Rum.