In welcoming the group of officials and businessmen, Mrs Jasmin Garraway, Sustainable Tourism Director and acting Head of Mission, stressed the importance of the private sector in the activities of the Association, “as private companies are some of the primary actors and a major catalyst in the development of the Greater Caribbean Region.”

French companies, among them, OPEN IT, a membership-based organisation comprised of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) professionals, had the opportunity to present their businesses’ backgrounds and their vision for enhancing services in the Caribbean market, primarily through partnerships with local counterparts.

The ACS, in turn, was able to showcase their own projects which include:
- the Virtual Community of International Cooperation focal points;
- the Integrated Information System of the Greater Caribbean, providing statistics and other vital information in the areas of Trade, Tourism, Transport and Natural Disasters;
- the Virtual Market of the Greater Caribbean, an online marketplace that would connect the business people of the region;
- the Internet-based Port and Maritime database to supply port and shipping information to stakeholders in the ACS region.

It is hoped that this exchange of information will open up the possibilities for future partnerships with the French Overseas Departments and the ACS.

About the ACS

The Association of Caribbean States is the organization for consultation, cooperation and concerted action in trade, transport, sustainable tourism and natural disasters in the Greater Caribbean. Its Member States are Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela. Its Associate Members are Aruba , France on behalf of French Guiana , Guadeloupe , and Martinique , and the Netherlands Antilles .

For further information, please contact:

Denise Lewis Martínez
Communications Officer
Association of Caribbean States
E-mail: communications@acs-aec.org
Tel : 1-868-622-9575
Fax : 1-868-622-1653