Commonwealth helps Grenada position its economy for increased trade

Grenada took a substantial step towards boosting its trade after launching a major initiative last week.

A new National Export Strategy (NES) will see the Caribbean state diversify and increase imports and exports between now and 2021.

The Commonwealth has been pivotal in enabling the government to develop this strategy, by designing plans that identify and exploit new opportunities.

Oliver Joseph, Minister for Economic Development Trade and Planning, officially launched the NES on 27 July alongside the Permanent Secretaries of other key ministries, private sector representatives, donor agency officials and the Core Design Team for the strategy.

Mr Joseph praised the Commonwealth, saying that the export strategy is an “excellent strategic document that provides a good roadmap to develop the sector.” He added that Grenada’s government is “fully committed to developing the export strategy to increase trade that will create wealth and jobs.”

The minister went on to say that Grenada is committed to assisting the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises and lowering the cost of doing business by addressing the prohibitive cost of electricity in the country.

Setting out a clear and forward-thinking national export strategy is crucial to achieving sustainable economic growth for small states. The Commonwealth has played a long-standing role in providing assistance to its members, particularly small island states and developing countries, to design strategies that open up new opportunities and create better development outcomes.

Commonwealth Trade Adviser Yinka Bandele said, “Grenada’s National Export Strategy is timely and entirely necessary to position fast-growing export sectors and penetrate markets, which the country has yet to take full advantage of.

“It is envisaged that the NES will support the government’s vision of boosting its export sector and improving its global competitiveness.”