CARICOM Moves Step Closer to Regional Strategy for Services Sector

• The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has moved a step closer to implementing a Regional Strategy for the Services Sector for which it received Ministerial approval in March. 
• When they met virtually on March 8^th in a special session of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED), CARICOM Ministers who hold responsibility for the Services Sector approved SWOT analyses for nine sub-sectors. The approved SWOT analyses include seven priority sectors – Professional Services; ICT Services; Postal and Courier Services; Health and Wellness Services; Cultural and Entertainment Services, Sporting Services; Education Services; and Tourism Services. The SWOTs will now inform national and regional planning, as well as provide the basis for requests for technical and financial assistance from the international community.  
• The Ministers also approved a COVID-19 Services Sector Response Plan. The approval of the Response Plan came as the Member States were rolling back measures that were in place to reduce the spread of the virus, allowing for the safe re-opening of their economies.  
• With the decisions the Ministers took, the Services Sector is poised to be a major catalyst in CARICOM’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a key vehicle through which the Region can achieve its objectives of full employment and increased standard of living. The Sector can also help the Region to deliver its commitments under the Sustainable Development Goals including poverty reduction, increased female participation in the market and good governance.

(Source: CARICOM Today)