Rodolfo Sabonge Calls for Holistic Collaboration at the 22nd Caribbean Shipping Executives’ Conference
At the 22nd Caribbean Shipping Executives’ Conference in Miami Florida on 20 May, 2024, the ACS Secretary General, Rodolfo Sabonge, participated in a panel discussion on “Stimulating Caribbean Commerce: Collaborative Strategies to foster Inter-Island Trade” alongside Maxim Mella of AGEPORT and Jean-Phillippe Baussan from AGEMAR S.A.
In his interventions, Secretary General Sabonge highlighted the need to tackle the regional transport dilemma as one region that includes all countries and territories bordering the Caribbean Sea. He called for holistic collaboration among the countries of the Greater Caribbean, which includes policymakers and industry experts. Boosting intra-regional trade also requires a review of the trading culture in regional economies, which in many instances reflects the country’s colonial history.
To seize possible opportunities and devise concrete solutions, he encouraged shipping experts present to consider a regional Public-Private Partnership arrangement to operationalize regional maritime and logistics services effectively.
The Association of Caribbean States is the organization for consultation, cooperation and concerted action in trade, transport, sustainable tourism and natural disasters in the Greater Caribbean. Its Member States are Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela. Its Associate Members are Aruba, Curacao, (France on behalf of French Guiana, Saint Barthelemy and Saint Martin ), Guadeloupe, Martinique, Sint Maarten, (The Netherlands on behalf of Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius ), Turks and Caicos.