Forty-four (44) government officials and private sector representatives, including 30 women and 14 men participated in a Trade in Services Workshop held from 26 – 27 September 2017, in Kingston, Jamaica.
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Organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, in collaboration with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Commonwealth Secretariat Hub and Spokes Programme’s National Trade Adviser deployed to Jamaica, Ms. Josephine Nyakatawa, the workshop was aimed at enhancing participants’ knowledge and understanding of Jamaica’s trade in services commitments under the GATS, CARIFORUM-EU EPA and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) Services Regime. This is critical to ongoing national efforts to formulate policy responses that are consistent with Jamaica’s multilateral, regional and bilateral commitments on trade in services.
Through a presentation by a representative of the Delegation of the European Union to Barbados, participants also had an opportunity to learn more about the European Union’s services commitments under the CARIFORUM-EU EPA and opportunities that are available for Jamaica in the EU services market.
The workshop was a success and according to the feedback received from participants, it was very useful in enhancing their knowledge and understanding of trade in services. A concluding comment by one of the participants, "Understanding Jamaica's commitments under the multilateral trade agreements is key to effective policy making. The Trade in Services Workshop was therefore a welcomed forum. It not only allowed the uninitiated to understand how to assess the language and structure of trade agreements, but also provided practical examples of some of Jamaica's current commitments. I would attend another similarly convened workshop."
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