The Ministry of Trade has opened an official office at the Antigua Port Authority in a bid to improve the ease of doing business in the country.
Trade Minister Chet Greene said that it would not be long before traders and importers felt the effects of the new facility.
“Persons would have to otherwise come to the port to get some documents signed, then go back to the Ministry of Trade to get some other documents signed; it is now happening in one place,” he said.
Minister Greene said the initiative would take trade to the “next level” and encouraged his staff to ensure that productivity is heightened to fulfil the ministry’s goals.
According to the ministry, the office will serve as a “one stop shop” and ensure that the country meets its obligations under the World Trade Organisation’s trade facilitation agreement.
“If you look at this port and the government’s vision of having a port that facilitates transshipment, then this [office] makes all the sense in the world,” he said, adding that he expects foreign investments to increase with the establishment of an office at the port.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade, Ambassador Clarence Pilgrim, also spoke of his pride in the new office.
“As part of the Ministry of Trade’s modernisation efforts, we have defined how to proceed using the Sustainable Development Goals as a basis for creating our own goals and, as part of the SDGs, trade facilitation will play a very significant part,” Ambassador Pilgrim noted.
“Too often, we have had different areas that are disjointed and we want to end this disjoint. We want to make sure that at the end of the day … businesses can say that they used their time wisely,” he added.
Port Manager Darwin Telemaque spoke to the importance of the initiative in fostering a harmonised and transparent business environment.
“The Port Authority and its operations is an ecosystem that requires different actors, multiple agencies coordinating to ensure that goods and people can be safely brought into the country and exported.
“So, all of these actors are in this one space, and so, instead of having to spend additional money to take a taxi or burn gas to go and get something signed and stamped, you can do it here, and this is very significant,” Telemaque said.
Telemaque, who has frequently talked about Antigua becoming the “transshipment hub of the OECS”, added that further discussions were underway to increase transshipment.
