- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 14/Aug 02:38

Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada sign trade agreement

To facilitate business innovation, financial development and cross-cultural collaboration, the TT Chamber and the Grenada Chamber have signed a trade and business development co-operation agreement. The signing took place on July 29 at the sidelines of the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) 2025 in Grenada.. In a release, TT Chamber president Sonji Pierre-Chase said the agreement is based on the chamber’s theme for 2025 – driving Caribbean resilience – which envisions the private sector collaborating on mutually beneficial initiatives to upscale and build resilience. "The private sector in the Caribbean recognises that we don’t have to wait on the governments, we can really take our own initiatives and collaborate where we see benefits, especially because we are in an economic bloc. "I especially think that signing the agreement at ACTIF 2025 was important because if we are looking to develop and encourage trade between Caricom and the African continent, we need to build our scale and develop our own linkages within our membership. I think that this agreement is the impetus to get us in that direction," Pierre-Chase said. The TT Chamber said the agreement will set the foundation for projects that boost economic and social opportunities for both countries. The agreement will also facilitate shared research, trade missions, technical knowledge transfer and actions to address trade barriers. "It is an agreement that really strikes at the core of the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) as we know it," said Collin Francis, president of the Grenada Chamber. Francis said the agreement is an example of the private sector leading in areas where the CSME is concerned. "A lot of times we rely on government to create the frameworks for CSME, and they do, but it is up to institutions like ours, the chambers of commerce, to give life, give perspective and give value to the frameworks that governments have created. "So for us, we see this agreement as one where the private sectors of TT and Grenada can come together and collaborate on things like research, education, knowledge sharing and building skill capacity. "When that happens, it’s a win for our membership, it’s a win for the communities that we serve, and it’s a win for governments as well," he said. The post Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada sign trade agreement appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.