Group photo of CARICHAM members who were on the island last December attending a conference.
PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce and Industry (COCI) is now an official member of the Caribbean Chambers of Commerce CARICHAM network as of February 2020.
CARICHAM was officially launched on April 1, 2019, said COCI in a press release on Sunday.
The CARICHAM network was established to promote cooperation and collaboration between its 19 members within the Caribbean basin. The group also seeks to improve the levels of trade and investment within and between the region and other trading partners.
The network represents the interest of the private sector on regional and international issues; facilitate capacity building opportunities for members and representatives of the chambers of commerce; identify and undertake training, and facilitate other cooperation programs that will benefit the membership of the chambers, as well as the next generation of Caribbean business leaders; foster innovation and strategic collaboration among members to increase global competitiveness of industries; develop and share business-to-business market intelligence; share experiences and best practices in areas such as trade and investment, renewable energy/energy efficiency, disaster risk reduction and climate change; and finally, add value as well as identify opportunities for the members of the respective chambers, according to the release.
“I am very pleased that the chamber has become a member of CARICHAM as it will benefit St. Maarten COCI registrants. The chamber started its journey of connecting to the other Caribbean islands since 2018,” said President of the COCI Board Benjamin Ortega.
“We see this membership to further establish the working relation with CARICHAM as a strategic goal to improve the possible trade between the islands, improved working relations and contribute to the overall economic development of the entire Caribbean region. We would add value to the terms growing our network to improve our net worth,” he said.
The members of CARICHAM are the chambers of commerce and industry of Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Guadeloupe.
