– to be held in T&T next month
THE China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) is the body co-ordinating that country’s participation in the 3rd Caribbean-China Economic and Trade Forum scheduled for 12th and 13th September at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Port of Spain, Trinidad. According to a statement coming out of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Guyana, the Forum will be paired with a Business Conference which promises to be one of the most important events of the year in the Caribbean.

A very wide range of topics will be discussed in the various sessions that have been designed to reveal new opportunities for strengthening the framework of multilateral cooperation.

The China-Caribbean Business Conference on 12th September will be the premier gathering of business owners, government representatives and academic leaders.  China has already registered 140 business leaders, and business support organizations all across the Caribbean continue to mobilize.

In Guyana, some 30 business owners have registered with the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) and, according to Vice President of the Guyana-China Business Council, Mr. Clinton Williams, registration is not yet closed. More local entrepreneurs would be welcome to join the team headed for Trinidad in September.

The Guyana contingent is attending the forum under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Trade, the Guyana-China Business Council, and the Private Sector Commission (PSC)’s Trade and Investment Sub-Sector which is also headed by Clinton Williams.
According to Williams, the Plenary Sessions at the Forum will zone in on “Sustainable Trade Strategies” underpinned by the recent global economic turmoil and the need for diversification; and “Investment Opportunities in the Caribbean” which has experienced a relatively quick rebound in the post-crisis era.

“The vivid Caribbean presents abundant investment opportunities for Chinese Companies,” an official of the Chinese Embassy in Guyana said recently.
The industries that will come under the spotlight include engineering and construction, energy, finance, electronics, Information Technology and light industry.  Two of China’s leading production companies, Haier Electrical Appliances Corporation and the China Harbour Engineering Company have already signed on.
In Guyana, Sithe Global, Toolsie Persaud, Ming’s Products & Services, Wings Aviation and other hardware manufacturers and service providers have registered.
The opening ceremony will feature addresses by Mr. Stephen Cadiz, Trinidad & Tobago’s Minister of Trade and Industry; China’s Vice Minister, Wang Chao; and CCPIT Vice Chairman, Yu Ping.
Mr. Clinton Williams, in a statement yesterday, said business owners who have not yet joined the Guyana contingent to the Caribbean-China Economic Forum should contact the GMSA’s Secretariat, 157 Waterloo St., North Cummingsburg, or on Tel: 223-7405/6 earliest.