Above: the meeting in Grand Bahama

By the Caribbean Journal staff

David Shark, deputy director general of the World Trade Organization, made a visit to Grand Bahama last week.

Shark was joined on the trip by Bahamas Financial Services Minister Ryan Pinder, Bahamian Ambassador to the United Nations Rhoda Jackson, WTO Legal Advisor June Young Lee and Grand Bahama Minister Dr Michael Darville, among others.

The Bahamas is currently in negotiations to accede to the World Trade Organization, something which has been a major priority for Pinder since Perry Christie’s PLP government won the country’s 2012 elections.

In a statement, the Bahamian Government said the trip was “expected to increase public awareness about the WTO accession process, the multilateral rules governing international trade, and how those rules impact market access to foreign markets by Bahamian companies, and access by foreign companies to the Bahamian market.”

Darville said it was important that residents of Grand Bahama were aware of “the benefits of gaining access into international markets and more favourable duty rates which can help industry as well as the manufacture and maritime sectors.”

Sharp said he was appreciative of his reception in the Bahamas and described his meetings in the country as “excellent.”

““I think we now have an important opportunity because being a member of the WTO is another way of The Bahamas saying we are open for business, we have sound and predictable environment for businesses to take root here, although you already have a great deal of activities,” Shark said.

The Bahamas is currently the only country in the Caribbean that is not a member of the WTO.

“That is a factor that businesses look at when they decide where they are going to go, because being a member of the WTO provides stability for the business environment,” Shark said.