KINGSTON, Jamaica – Industry leaders, international experts, traders and exporters will join the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce (MIIC) and border regulatory agencies (BRAs) for a trade forum, on Wednesday, March 15.

The topic to be discussed is ‘Facilitating Competitive, Safe and Secure Cross-border Trade: What will it take?’

The forum will be held at the University of the West Indies Regional Headquarters and will explore the current issues affecting trade locally, regionally, and internationally, as well as provide a forecast for future trade.

To set the stage, representatives from Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited, Shipping Association of Jamaica and Whiteshield Partners, a leading public policy advisory group, will chart the picture of where the opportunities are for the development of Jamaica as a logistics hub and what it will take to deliver it.

The first session will examine areas such as logistic operations at seaports and airports, including logistic services, local and regional connectivity, as well as the trading to and/or from special economic zones.

The topic of attracting value-added activities towards optimisation of Jamaica as a logistics hub will also be discussed.

Chairman of Kingston Wharves Limited, Jeffrey Hall, will moderate the second session, which will focus on how current barriers to trade in Jamaica and market access can be tackled. The private sector and BRAs will discuss this issue and look at solutions, while international partners will also look at market access issues and opportunities.

In session three, ‘Supporting Stakeholders for Effective Compliance’, the emphasis will be on identifying the public- and private-sector training and capacity-building needs to improve the degree and simplicity of compliance.

For the closing session, Vice President of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, Dr Parris Lyew-Ayee Jr; President of Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), Shullette Cox and the MIIC state minister, Dr Norman Dunn, will summarise the recommendations coming out of the discussions and make a call to action for the partners going forward.

The forum will be facilitated by the Trade Facilitation Programme Office, with the support of the Foundation for Competitiveness Programme.

Individuals interested in attending the session may send an email to tf2secretariat@miic.gov.jm or call (876) 968-7116.