ACS Hosts 31st Special Committee on Transport

The Association of Caribbean States yesterday, 23 August 2022, convened the 31^st Meeting of the Special Committee on Transport, presided over by Martinique in their capacity as the 2022-2023 Chair and under the responsibility of the ACS Directorate for Trade and Sustainable Development. The meeting included a sectoral stakeholder session and closed working session for Member States and Associate Members and focused on the efforts towards enhanced connectivity in the regional transport sector to transform it into a system that is more sustainable, robust, and dynamic.

The Opening Session heard remarks from the Chair, Ms. Sandra Casanova, His Excellency Rodolfo Sabonge, Secretary General of the ACS as well as the Director Safiya Horne-Bique of the Directorate for Trade and Sustainable Development. They stressed the importance on identifying solutions, responding to global issues that have become more apparent within the Greater Caribbean and called for regional cooperation in addressing transport challenges and improving regional connectivity.

Among the presenters, Mr. Diogo Aita, Associate Economic Affairs Officer, International Trade and Integration Division at the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) showed the crucial nexus that transport facilitates between trade in services and tourism and posited regional recovery strategies in terms of transport solutions, such as the feasibility of a regional ferry network. Mr. Colin Young, Caribbean Regional Coordinator in the Technical Cooperation Division of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) expounded on the implementation of sustainability measures within the maritime and shipping industry as well as the work of their GreenVoyage2050 project that seeks to support policy frameworks on the reduction of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions from ports and ships.

The Stakeholder Session also received contributions from industry practitioners, including Mr. Jose Dopeso, Director of Maritime and Port Affairs of COCATRAM who spoke to the diverse catalog of undertakings of the organization within the region, with specific focus on environmental impacts, capacity-building as well as digitalization of the industry and smart ports. Mr. Darwin Telemaque, President of the Port Management Association of the Caribbean (PMAC) presented on the importance of developing holistic, regional strategies in order to respond to the current regional challenge of declining maritime cargo volumes. Other robust presentations were received, with Mr. Cortney Robinson, Air Transport Officer for Air Cargo at ICAO advancing the case for digitalization and its benefits for the aviation sector. Shoring up the practical applications was Dr. Eusebiu Catana, Coordinator of the FENIX programme, which is a federative network of transport platforms that target connectivity for decision-making and data exchange and sharing for transport and logistics operators.

Participants from both public and private sector organisations reflected on the meeting through interactive and robust discussions with the objective of identifying key strategic actions necessary for a competitive and resilient transport sector.

For more information please contact the Directorate of Trade and Sustainable Development: [email protected].