CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
Barbados
The Barbados
Mia Mottley
government
has contracted
former
Prime Minister Owen Arthur
to chair a new global commission
that will examine issues
related to small island states.
This comes ahead of next
year’s United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development
(UNCTAD) XV to he be
held in Barbados.
The Barbados-sponsored
Global Commission on Small
Island States (SIDS) — Trade
Development Options 2020 is
expected to prepare on issues
ranging from the high indebtedness
of Small Island Developing
States (SIDS) to global
warming and the impact of
artificial intelligence.
A release from the Office
of the Prime Minister stated
that the commissioners would
be selected from around the
globe and would meet faceto
face.
A secretariat to support
the commission and its work
would soon be extablished.
“There research will also
cover topic such as the development
of a realizable modern
trade agenda, an assessment
of the current state of SIDS;
graduation from access to
financing vulnerability; a narrow
economic base enhancing
dependence on a small range
of products; areas of potential
transformation; creative
economies; and the development
of small enterprises,”
the release said.
It was also noted that
papers produced by the commission
THE NEWS FROM BACK HOME
The Jamaica government says there are plans to establish
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Caribbean L 4 ife, September 13-19 2019
a center in Jamaica to further advance cannabis
and other plant-based medical research.
would be considered
in the leading up to Barbados’s
chairmanship and hosting
of UNCTAD XV in 2020.
Caribbean
The United
States has
named four
C a r i b b e a n
Communit y
(CARICOM) states as major
drug transit or illicit drugproducing
countries.
President Trump in his
recent “Presidential Determination
on Major Illicit Drug-
Producing Countries for fiscal
year 2020 address, named The
Bahamas, Belize, Haiti and
Jamaica among a number of
other countries in Central and
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More plant-based
research in Jamaica
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South America.
In his statement, Trump
noted that a country’s presence
on the foregoing list is
not necessary a reflection
of its government’s counter
narcotics efforts or level of
cooperation with the United
States.
The reason countries are
placed on the list is the combination
of geographic, commercial,
and economic factors
that allow drugs to transit or
be produced, even if a government
has engaged in robust
and diligent narcotics control
measures.
Trump said his administration
has devoted unprecedented
resources to combating the
scourge of illicit drugs in the
United States.
He said this includes
strengthening the US borders
and expanding programs to
prevent illicit drug use and aid
the recovery and treatment of
those who need it.
Cayman Islands
Trinidad
and Tobago
owned
C a r i b -
bean Airlines
(CAL) will fly non-stop
between Kingston, Jamaica
and Grand Cayman, starting
from Oct. 29. The flights will
operate twice weekly on Tuesdays
and Saturdays.
CAL CEO Garvin Medera
said in a release that the new
Grand Cayman route is a welcome
addition to the airline’s
schedule “as we continue our
mission to connect the Caribbean.”
He said Jamaica and Grand
Cayman have always enjoyed
a very close connection and
this addition of 300 seats per
week into either market will
strengthen this relationship.
Grand Cayman is the largest
of the three Cayman
Islands, with a population of
65,813. Tourism accounts for
about 70 percent of GDP, with
tourist arrivals exceeding two
million.
Grenada
G r e n a d a
tourism officials
say an
e s t i m a t e d
2,000 Trinidad
and Tobago nationals visited
the island for the recent
Carnival celebrations, making
it the best-performing Caribbean
Community (CARICOM)
market for the tourism sector
.T
he Grenada Tourism
Authority (GTA) said, however
the United States with
visitor arrivals of 6,818, or an
increase of 21 percent over
last year, was the best-performing
market overall, followed
by Trinidad and Tobago
with a seven percent increase
or 1,973 visitors.
The GTA said Grenada
records a 7.7 percent increase
in arrivals for the 2019 festival
of 13,327 compared to 12,379.
This figure is a measure of the
visitors and diaspora arriving
g in the destination, prior to
Carnival Monday.
Of the 13,327 stayover
visitors, 10,505 were tourists
and 2,822 were Grenadians
residing abroad, the GTA
said, noting that the growth
is attributed to additional
airlift including three additional
flights by regional airline,
LIAT, increased marketing
and the global recognition
of Grenada’s artistes, culture
and music.
Jamaica
The Jamaica
government
says
there are plans
to establish a
center in Jamaica to further
advance plant-based medical
research.
Minister of Industry, Commerce,
Agriculture and Fisheries,
Audley Shaw said a “program
of cooperation”, involving
noted Jamaican scientists
and businessman Dr. Henry
Lowe, as well as Dr. Julius
Garvey, son of National Hero
Marcus Garvey, and director
at Harvard University Medical
School, Dr. Wilfred Ngwa, is
being finalized for the associate
research center’s establishment.
Shaw told the Jamaica
Information Service (JIS) that
Dr. Ngwa will soon be visiting
Jamaica to further advance
these discussions as Jamaica’s
unique microclimatic conditions
place Jamaica in an
enviable position globally.
Shaw noted that of just over
100 plants which are known
and used for medicines, 51 are
indigenous to Jamaica.
He said a research study by
Harvard University scientists,
which showed that cannabis
can potentially help cancer
victims, is “very significant.”
The minister said given
Jamaica’s unique history with
respect to cannabis and may
other plant-based medicines’
exciting days” are ahead for
the country in this regard.
Shaw revealed that the
Cannabis Licensing Authority
(CLA) has now issued 54
licenses to cannabis entrepreneurs
and will shortly complete
export regulations to
facilitate the legal export of
cannabis raw materials, such
as buds and oil extracts.
Guyana
The Guyana
government
plans
to establish a
local content
compliance unit as the country
gears to begin commercial
oil production next year.
Head of the Department of
Energy, Dr. Mark Bynoe told
the orientation exercise at the
University of the West Indies
(UWI) that the unit will validate
the information submitted
by oil companies in Guyana’s
basis.
“How do you know if Exxon
employed 1,357 people, how
many of Guyanese origin are
actually employed, we are set-
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