Dr. Denzil Douglas Pursues Trade and Investment Opportunities at Canada-CARICOM Summit in Ottawa

Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis (24 October 2023) – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who hosted the first Canada-CARICOM Summit held in Ottawa last week has pledged to work more closely with the region to boost trade and investment opportunities as part of a strategic partnership for a resilient future. This new orientation has been welcomed by the Right Honorable Dr. Denzil Douglas, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Trade, Industry, Commerce, Investment and Economic Development. The Federation’s Foreign Minister participated in the Summit alongside the Prime Minister as part of a dedicated effort secure opportunities for industrial and technological cooperation with Canada.

The Summit which focused on building climate resilience, inclusive societies and sustainable economies and ensuring critical access to finance through the reform of the international financial architecture as well as building a secure and equitable hemisphere, including Haiti notably ended with a pivotal trade and investment roundtable. This exclamatory conclusion to the summit sought to privilege the role of the private sector in fostering sustainable development. The business Roundtable included notable private sector titans like Marc Andre Blanchard, the Executive Vice President, and Global Head of Sustainable at Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec, Craig Bascombe, the CEO of the Canadian Bank Note Company, Dr. Sue Molloy, CEO of the Gas Ocean Electric as well as Marty Harris, Executive Lead and Senior Vice President of AECON.

The Foreign Minister while in Ottawa also capitalized on the opportunity to meet with Francois-Phillipe Champagne, the Minister for Innovation, Science and Mary Ng, the Minister for International Trade. As part of efforts to carve out innovative partnerships to position St. Kitts and Nevis geo-strategically the Foreign Minister also met with Harry Tseng, Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Ottawa and Henry Liu, the Executive Director of the Economic Division and other Taiwanese private sector officials operating in Canada. Taiwan and Canada have recently concluded talks on a bilateral investment agreement.

St. Kitts and Nevis, which is well placed to join critical global supply chains, owing to its established light manufacturing sector, is seeking to launch into new industrial partnerships with long standing partners and friends.