A study on obstacles to trade conducted by the ACS revealed that the major barriers to regional trade include mutual unawareness among entrepreneurs and a lack of knowledge concerning the business environment.

Despite the geographic proximity and complementarity of the economies of the Greater Caribbean, we have had to face tough situations in developing trade with the little communication that has existed within our region. This is an obstacle that has been partially overcome with the development of Internet technology, which, with the development of the Integrated Information System of the Greater Caribbean, will be one more crucial tool for trade and investment.

The most significant obstacle continues to be physical communication, that is to say, transport, both maritime and air, which are the driving forces behind the development of the trade in goods as well as services.

From this perspective, we can say that although trade is one of the priority areas of the ACS, it is evident that it is linked to two other areas that are also ACS priorities, namely transport and tourism. Transport is necessary to conduct trade, and tourism in itself is an activity of the trade in services.

In the area of maritime transport, the Secretariat has formulated a project approved by the Association's relevant authorities, which is in the process of being implemented and which will result in the drafting of a chart of Caribbean Sea routes that will prove highly useful for communication and trade.

With respect to air transport, as a result of the Presidential Group on transport created at the Panama Summit and coordinated by the President of Panama, a new air route for communication between the Caribbean and Central America, via Panama, is expected to be established in the near future.

Although the results of the Business Forums have been satisfactory and year after year the event has been covering a wider area in its consolidation process, we must recognise that there is still a great deal of room for growth and we are certain that each and every forum will provide the opportunity for more new business to be conducted.

The 7th Business Forum of the Greater Caribbean was held in Port of Spain on September 26-29 of this year, with encouraging results, while the 8th Business Forum of the Greater Caribbean is scheduled to take place in Panama on March 7-10, 2007, in conjunction with the Expocomer Fair.

Without a shadow of a doubt, the trade scenario presents special challenges for both governments and the business sector and based on this perspective, the Business Forum of the Greater Caribbean is a tool that will empower us to move forward and consolidate the development of trade and investment in the Greater Caribbean.

Manuel Madriz is the Trade Director at the Secretariat of the Association of Caribbean States. The opinions expressed are not necessarily the official views of the ACS. Comments can be sent to: mail@acs-aec.org