Draft for discussion…

SEMINAR – AGRI-FOOD SYSTEMS AND BUILDING REGIONAL SYNERGIES

CWA 2014, SURINAME

Thursday 9th, 2014

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I. Introduction and background:

The CWA is the premier annual agricultural event on the Region's calendar. It is convened under the aegis of the Alliance for Sustainable Development of Agriculture and the Rural Milieu (“The Alliance”) comprising the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Food and Agriculture of the United Nations (FAO) and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI). It was conceptualized: 1) to enable the key decision-makers in the public and private sectors to better acknowledge the importance of agriculture and rural life to the economic, social and environmental stability of the region and 2) for the major stakeholders in agriculture and related sectors to have an opportunity to dialogue and forge a common vision for the repositioning of agriculture and the enhancement of rural life.

For this 13th edition of CWA, which was celebrated in Suriname, FAO took the lead in collaboration with IICA, to organize the “Haiti Agri-Food System and Regional Linkages” seminar. with the interest of, This seminar was intended to promote Haitian agriculture more effectively in both the institutional and commercial life of the CARICOM as well as to provide a greater understanding of the food production system in Haiti, and propose key actions for synergy. The CWA 2014 theme, “Transforming Caribbean Agriculture through Family Farming”, is significant for Haiti for the following reasons:

1) Agriculture is the mainstay of the rural economy and food and nutrition security in Haiti. The agriculture sector contributes over 25% to the country’s GDP. In 2012, it is estimated that the sector was responsible for approximately 60% of employment in the country and according to the recent agricultural census, agriculture is practised by over one million small family farmers with an average of 1 ha of land or less. These small farmers produce about 50% of the food consumed in Haiti. 2) The government of Haiti has shown an increasing interest in revitalizing the agricultural sector particularly with a main focus on family farming and agri-business, encouraging increased profitability, productivity and performing as a modern, formal and sustainable sector articulated with other economic sectors. This interest is translated in several policy documents, one of which is the Three-Year Agricultural Recovery plan (PTRA) (2013-2016). This Plan aims at a) “increasing rural income by 40%”, b) reducing the dependency on food imports by 25% and increasing self-sufficiency to 60%, c) increasing reforestation from 1 to 5 % and d) doubling agricultural exports. 3) In the recent years, driven by the interest to promote Haiti for business; the Government of Haiti has been exploring the development of a stronger relationship with the Caribbean private sector, various governments and the CARICOM Secretariat. For example, it is reported that after the earthquake, duty free exports of 42 items (including plantains, peas, cocoa, coffee, etc.) were approved to CARICOM countries for a period of three years, ending in December 2013. However, the country was unable to take advantage of this offer. 4) With a population of approximately 10,671,000 (which represents around 60% of the total population of the CARICOM), Haiti remains critical for the transformation of the Caribbean Agriculture. It is therefore, important that the various actors in CARICOM understand Haiti’s food and agricultural production system so that they can work together to transform Caribbean Agriculture.

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This report highlights key remarks from high level Officials from the CARICOM Secretariat; the Governments of Haiti, Suriname and the Bahamas; IICA, FAO and the Caribbean Development Bank (CBD); and reports on the various presentations made during this seminar, including one made by the Minister of Agriculture of Haiti on the progress of the Haitian Agricultural Recovery Plan. A legislation proposal to increase import tariffs on certain agricultural and food commodities in Haiti was also presented and discussed. A complete list of the presentations can be found in the Annex.

The report is divided into three parts: 1) key messages and lessons learnt from the seminar, 2) key recommendations and proposed next steps, and 3) annexes

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OPENING CEREMONY

Head Table at Opening Ceremony (from the left to the right): Ena Harvey (IICA Management coordinator for the Caribbean Region), Frits Ohler (FAO Country Representative in Haiti), Soeresh Algoe (Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries of Suriname), Jacques Thomas (Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development Haiti), Manorma Soeknandan (Deputy Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)), Raul Benitez (Assistant Director General and FAO Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean).

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II. Key messages and lessons coming out from the seminar:  It is recognized that Haiti has great potential to develop and transform its agriculture, particularly through family farming and agribusiness. The Three-Year Agriculture Recovery Plan (PTRA) represents one of the key opportunities for this development and transformation. It embraces four main programs: a) family farming support, b) agribusiness and access to the market, c) rural infrastructure and watershed management and d) institutional development and governance. It aims to modernize the country’s agricultural sector (characterized by family farms that contribute up to 50% of food self-sufficiency) and the agribusiness sector in areas such as Artibonite, Central, North, North-east, South and Grand-Anse departments. The Plan translates the vision for eradicating hunger, poverty alleviation with sustainable management of natural resources and economic growth.

 Clear opportunities exist for private sector investment linking both family farming and agribusiness. These opportunities include: one of the largest single markets in the region, some existing capacity for production and processing, and high numbers of persons available for employment. The presentations reported that Haiti has increasing demand for agricultural products. During the period 2009-2011, Haiti imported USD 538 million in food against exports of USD 38.74 million in food crops.

 Investment opportunities are favorable since Haiti has a wide range of agro-climates, available land, commercial agreements (Economic Partnership Agreement as an ACP country with the EU, recently signed agreement with Bahamas last July 2014, bilateral agreements with USA, integration into ALBA, etc); proximity of the USA market, the CARICOM market and .

 The Ministry of Agriculture is supporting family farmers by providing a) access to inputs including fertilizer and seeds, b) finance, c) rural infrastructure including irrigation and d) basic tools and equipment. The Ministry of Agriculture also assists agricultural enterprises to develop business plans, support business development and facilitate access to government owned land. Public investment in the agriculture sector has grown significantly (7-8% of the annual budget) in the recent years. Furthermore, the Government of Haiti has managed to significantly reduce the time taken to establish a business in the country (including the sector of agriculture) from over 100 days to just 5 days by adjusting the procedures of establishing the business.

 Foreign investors from countries such as Mexico, USA, Dominican Republic and inter alia, have already shown interest in investment. Haiti Broilers (HB) S.A is a clear example of potential success of Caribbean investment in the agricultural sector in Haiti, driven by the high demand, availability of locally grown raw materials (corn, sorghum, cassava, etc) and labour. The company is a large scale enterprise which works directly with 1300 small farmers, providing them with technology, training and free technical support. It establishes contracts with farmers to supply raw materials and works directly with 130 distributors spread throughout Haiti.

 Another example is the growing interest in greenhouse development for horticulture in Haiti. The case presented by the president of the Greenhouse Association in Haiti showed a clear impact of the support provided by the government in collaboration with IICA to this sector.

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 Interest for investment in Haiti is growing. A total of USD 600 million in investments is expected by the end of 2015, of which USD 273 million is to be signed before the end of 2014. This represents an increase from USD 30 million in 2013.

 Interest for investment in Haiti: growing Expected total of USD 600 million investments by the end of 2015, of which USD 273 million to be signed before the end of 2014, moving from a total of USD 30 million in 2013.

 The government wishes to encourage returning members of the diaspora to become longer term entrepreneurs rather than short term consultants.

 Import taxes for Haiti were described as being the lowest in the world and serve as a disincentive for family farmers. This is because local produce has to compete with imported subsidized products. Haiti’s bound rates for agricultural products do not exceed 30%. In addition, a large number of rates were set at zero. Imported agricultural products have been charged very low tariffs to make cheap food available to the population. One of the needs identified by HB S.A is enforcement of border controls, contrabands and increase in imported tariffs on chicken parts; to level the playing field. Government’s current aim is to increase the import tax rate for certain agricultural products in order to discourage imports and encourage local production. CARICOM members (except Suriname) bound all their agricultural rates at 100%. The CET for agricultural products is, in large measure, set at 40%. NB: A study was conducted early this year by FAO to assist the Government of Haiti to evaluate possible reforms in that matter.

 The government of Haiti is currently working on a number of projects to promote sustainable development and transform the sector. These include projects on: o Traceability - which entails the registration of producers based on a national grid system of squares of 1 by 1 kilometer of the whole country; o Food safety and standards - a Food Safety Unit will be established and will incorporate both crop and livestock protection, quarantine and laboratory facilities, o The creation of a National Bank for Agricultural Development, o Internal and external markets, with a particular focus in agri-tourism, trade shows, exhibitions and international agreements o Legal reform, including a project to set the tariff rates between 0 to 40%. e.g. the tariff rate on fish should be increased from 0% to 20-40%; on eggs to increase from 10% to 40%, on coffee from 15% to 40% and on maize from 3.5% to 20% (see the total list in Annex).

 Major opportunities exist for a wide range of commodities/value chains. These include: poultry (broiler chickens/layers and guinea fowl), milk and dairy, goat/pork/beef, honey and apiculture, fisheries and aquaculture, plantains and bananas, sugar cane and its derived products, coffee and cocoa, roots and tubers (particularly cassava, yams and sweet potatoes), cereals (maize, sorghum, rice) and pigeon pea, horticulture, fruits and nuts (mango, avocado, citrus, pineapple, water melon, papaya, orange, tamarind, cashew, coconut), inter alia.

 Support from the CARICOM Secretariat is critical to the process of transforming agriculture in Haiti as well as for fulfilling the vision of eradicating hunger, poverty alleviation, sustainable management of natural resources and economic growth. It is proposed to explore technical cooperation among the member states and take concrete actions to strengthen the relationship between the other CARICOM countries and Haiti and vice versa.

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 The government of Haiti has renewed its interest in receiving support from all CARICOM countries, particularly Suriname and also from Venezuela.

 Haiti has been a full CARICOM member since July 2002 but is not yet fully integrated into the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME). In terms of its participation in the trade arrangements of CARICOM, Haiti has still not managed to benefit by exporting its goods duty- free, neither are other CARICOM members benefiting from Haiti’s market on that basis. In 2010, approval was granted to Haiti for duty free exports of 42 items (including plantains, peas, cocoa, coffee, etc.) to CARICOM for a period of three years, ending in December 2013. However, the country was unable to take advantage of this concession.

 Haiti has also not been integrated into the other (non-goods) aspects of the CSME. For example, Haitian nationals are not entitled to visa-free travel and minimum six month stay as are other CARICOM nationals. Worst, for some Caribbean countries, including Suriname, Haitian nationals with a diplomatic passport require a visa to travel to the countries.

 In May 2004, Haiti reported to the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) that it had already met almost all of its obligations, e.g. legal adoption of the Common External Tariff (CET) as the basis for its national tariff. However, although Haiti had aligned 40% of its tariff lines with the Common External Tariff (CET), the remainder was expected to be completed by October 2014 at which time full trade, based on the CARICOM regime for trade in goods, was expected to take place. This target date has not been met. As indicated during the seminar, this arrangement is still in a project phase and may take longer. Haiti also indicated that some rates may be set lower than the CET rates due to cost of living considerations.

 It was advised to promote the establishment of regional strategies that foster improved linkages between Haiti and DR. With the CARICOM, this would expand the market opportunity to 30 million people in the region.

 Suriname has expressed interest in cooperating with Haiti in matters related to Food and Nutrition Security and trade relations. This interest has resulted in the recent establishment of the General Consulate of Haiti in Suriname. It is recognized that to date, nearly 5000 Haitians are living and working in Suriname. Upland rice production was mentioned as a potential area for exchange of experience with Haiti.

 IICA is currently collaborating with the government of Haiti to bring experts from the “Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería, Desarrollo Rural, Pesca y Alimentación” SAGARPA/Mexico for training and to exchange of experiences in rural tourism/agro-tourism. This represents a good practice that can be used as model for further exchange of experiences between Haiti and the other CARICOM member states.

 Some of commodities proposed for promoting trade with Haiti include: a) Coffee which is sometimes reported as being in short supply within the region, as a regional input and thus the basis for requests for suspension of the CET on that product b) A range of essential oils (including vetiver oil for which Haiti is the major exporter worldwide) – these have also been reported as being in short supply and the market should be explored in depth c) Mangoes and other tropical fruit which are also major exports from Haiti. CARICOM markets for these products may be limited given local production but opportunities may exist.

7 | P a g e d) Cocoa products (cocoa powder, cocoa paste and cocoa butter) which are imported in significant quantities by CARICOM. Imports of these products by CARICOM were about US$5 million in 2010. e) Vegetable flours – CARICOM’s imports of vegetable flours in 2011 were US$24 million. Depending on the specific items currently demanded, the import values could indicate the potential for Haiti’s exports of plantain and cassava flour. f) Mauby bark is in high demand in some CARICOM countries and it is understood that exports have been made from Haiti to . g) Rice imports from have been occurring for many years, though at unstable levels. Exports of up to 25,000 tonnes have been attained in recent years. There have, however, been recent negotiations to substantially increase the levels of exports from Guyana to Haiti with shipments exceeding 50,000 tonnes. h) Raw sugar: CARICOM’s sugar production (primarily from Jamaica, Belize and Guyana) has recently, been insufficient to meet regional demand for raw sugar but has been showing signs of recovery. It is therefore possible that, in the future, Haiti could become one of the regular markets.

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III. Recommendations and proposed next steps:

 Better institutional coordination and cooperation: The CARICOM Secretariat to work closely with IICA, FAO, CDB and other institutions to promote effective policy dialogue and functional cooperation in the ground with the Government of Haiti and the various stakeholders working in agriculture, rural development and food and nutrition security. By so doing, the partners would make more effective and efficient use of resources as well as the agencies’ physical presence in the country and their work experience to support public policies in Haiti. In that regard, the Deputy Secretary General of the CARICOM and the FAO Sub Regional Coordinator for the Caribbean propose to undertake missions to Haiti in early 2015.

 Increased trade integration: There is a clear need for increased contact between Haiti and the CARICOM Secretariat to address on-going implementation issues. The development of a Special Programme of Assistance is proposed, to assist Haiti in promoting its exports within CARICOM. The CARICOM Secretariat, which has responsibility for administering the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, should intensify its efforts to assist Haiti to be fully integrated into the regime.

 Facilitation of travel: Appropriate action is also required from the CARICOM secretariat to evaluate the integration of Haiti into non-goods aspects of the CSME. This includes visa-free travel and minimum six month stay as granted to other CARICOM nationals, to Haitian nationals, on a case by case basis. This could impact heavily on business travel and thus the ability of Haiti to make the appropriate commercial contacts within CARICOM, and vice versa.

 Trade facilitation: The special program could also include: a) studies to identify specific commodities, exact sources of demand for trade and mutual exchange of experiences between Haiti and the other Caribbean countries. For example, Article 8 of the agreement with Bahamas, 8 stipulates “Both Parties shall establish an updated list of products based on risk assessment and establish the quality and safety criteria for each product covered by this Agreement”. b) a Reliable database of CARICOM purchasers and technical import requirements of the CARICOM countries are crucial to this process. c) Strengthening the legal framework for the legal adoption of the Common External Tariff (CET) d) Haiti, to become a member of CARDI which is the only regional body specifically dedicated to agriculture. In this regard, CARDI’s can play a critical role in integrating Haiti into the CARICOM agriculture.

 Agricultural Health and Food Safety: It is advised that Haiti develops close relations with the Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA). One of CAHFSA’s roles is to assist in facilitating trade though the streamlining of plant and animal quarantine and related regulations throughout CARICOM. CAHFSA can also act on behalf of the CARICOM Council for Trade & Economic Development (COTED) to resolve agricultural heath challenges that arise in intra-regional trade in agricultural products.

 Standards and Quality: Haiti is now a member of CARICOM Regional Organization for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) and should utilize that organization’s services fully as it seeks to comply with standards in other CARICOM countries to which it wishes to export.

 Establish links to CEDA: It is proposed that the Government of Haiti explore cooperation with the Caribbean Export Development Agency (CEDA /“Caribbean Export”). At present, Caribbean

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Export appears to have no programme specifically targeted to assisting Haitian enterprises to export to CARICOM. Its main programme involving Haiti focuses on Haiti-DR relations. Although Caribbean Export does not have a history of activities that include primary agricultural products, it does have a track record that includes processed agri-food products.

 Agri-food processing and value addition: The government of Haiti has made initial contact with the Caribbean Agribusiness Association (CABA) during the CWA, and it is currently looking forward to the opportunity of working together with FAO and IICA on an exploratory mission to Haiti to identify areas for cooperation in agri-food processing and value addition.

 Coordination and partnership are the missing links in Haiti. Greater effort is required, from all parties, to promote better coherence as well as to support ongoing initiatives and public policies in Haiti. The need to “do better” coordination, synergies and partnership is key. In this regard, IICA indicated that “soon the Ministry of Agriculture of Haiti will review its country strategy and explore opportunities for better synergy with the government’s priorities and policies (PTRA, the seed policy, etc)”. The Ministry of Agriculture of Haiti has also made a request to FAO to support short/medium/long term programming actions of the Ministry within the framework of the Agricultural Policy Development (2010-2025) and progress of the PTRA (2013-2016).

 Need for insurance mechanisms against disaster: jointly Développement International des Jardins (DID), FAQDI (Financière agricole du Québec – Développement international inc.) and IICA are working on an agricultural financing and insurance system in Haiti (SYFAAH). The first phase of this project (2011-2014) embraces value chains like rice, plantain, mangoes, horticulture and poultry)

 Increased IICA and FAO collaboration in Haiti: Reaffirmation of commitment of IICA and FAO, to work together to continue supporting the various policies and strategies of the Government of Haiti (PTRA, agricultural policy, seed policy etc).. It is proposed to organize a high level meeting of both institutions to define the terms of this joint support.

 The Caribbean Development Bank (CBD) has set aside approximately USD 2 million to support the integration of Haiti to the CARICOM. A call is made to IICA and FAO to work together on supporting actions that may be part of the aforementioned special program to support this integration.

 Additionally CDB offers USD 10 million to the government of Haiti to support investment in the agricultural sector. A first meeting was held between the Haitian delegation and CDB during the CWA, and an exploratory mission by a team from CDB will take place to Haiti soon, to explore this opportunity. There is call to FAO and IICA to support this opportunity.

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IV. ANNEXES:

a) Agenda of the Seminar:

THURSDAY, 9 OCTOBER 2014, 14:30 pm – 17:50 pm

14:30 - Opening 15:00 Welcome words: Moderator/ Chairperson:  Mr. Soeresh Algoe, Ministry of agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries of Suriname Mr. Frits Ohler, Country Representative, FAO  Mrs. Manorma Soeknanda, Deputy Secretary-General of the Caribbean Haiti Community (CARICOM) Secretariat  Mr. Raul Benitez, Assistant Director General and FAO Regional Representative for Latine America and the Caribbean  Mrs. Ena Harvey, IICA Management coordinator for the Caribbean Region  Mr. Jacques Thomas, Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARNDR, Haiti) 15:00 - Session I: Haiti Agri-Food System 16:00 Presentation I:  Understanding Haiti’s food and agriculture production system in Haiti: Mr. Jacques Thomas, context, opportunities and advantages, vision. Presentation of the three Mr. Carl Monde, Advisor to the Minister of year Agricultural Recovery Plan PTRA: 2013-2016. Agriculture

60 Mr. Henriot Nader, President of the Greenhouse min  Example of promotion of investment in Haiti, the case of greenhouse Growers Association in Haiti  Progress of Haiti in legal adoption of the Common External Tariff (CET), increase of taxes in support of the agricultural sector Mr. Ronald Beaufils, Vice-Director Customs Haiti Mr. Jean Marie Reginald Timmer, Vice Director Cstoms 16:00 - Session II: synergy between Haiti’s food and agriculture markets and 16:45 the rest of the CARICOM Presentation II: Prepared by Mr. Nigel Durrant, Agricultural Trade  Linking CARICOM Agriculture and Food Systems to the Haiti food and Specialist, Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) agriculture market, possibilities for interaction between CARICOM and CARICOM Secretariat 20 Haiti. It includes agricultural services and trade of CARICOM to Haiti and Presented by Mr. Luther St.Ville, Operations of min vice versa. CDB. Case study I: Mr. Richard Sadler , Special Projects Officer 15  Jamaica interfacing with Haiti (from both a commercial and production President's Office, Jamaica Broilers Group min point of view) - Haiti-Broilers Limited & Haiti Broilers S.A.

10 Case study II: Mr. Godfrey Eneas, Bahamas’ ambassador to min  Bahamas interfacing with Haiti, Haiti-Bahamas trade agreement the Food Agriculture Organization (FAO) 16:45 - Discussion and debate 17:25 5 min Commentator Rachelle Pierre Louis, IICA Haiti 35 min Discussion All 17:25- Closing and advised next steps 17:40 Closing words:  Mr. Deep Ford, FAO Sub-regional coordinator for the Caribbean  Mr. Jacques Thomas, Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARNDR, Haiti)

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b) Presentations:

For the materials of the seminar including presentations see the link below: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/y6hh7uvg24qyks7/AADIeL1PkADSe8rwPPanMryia?dl=0

c) Questions

 Has anyone given thoughts regarding how to transport the products from Haiti to CARICOM countries?  How do you see the Haitian diaspora participating in investment and sharing technical expertise?  Are there opportunities to obtain financial assistance for investments?  What plans are in place for crop insurance?  Is dumping a food safety and quality problem

d) Speakers and list for distribution:

Soeresh Algoe, Minister Agriculture Suriname [email protected] ; [email protected] Manorma Soeknandan, CARICOM Secretariat Raul Benitez, FAO LAC [email protected] Ena Harvey, IICA Caribbean [email protected] Jacques Thomas, Ministre Agriculture Haïti [email protected]; [email protected] Alex Jospitre, General Consul Haiti in Suriname [email protected]

Frits Ohler, FAO Haiti [email protected] Volny Paultre, FAO Haiti [email protected] Tito Diaz, FAO LAC [email protected] Pierre Andre Paul, Ministre Agriculture Haïti [email protected] Carl Monde, Minister Agriculture, Haiti [email protected] Henriot Nader, Private sector Haiti [email protected] Ronald Beaufils, Custom Haiti [email protected]; [email protected] Jean Marie Reginald Timmer, Custom Haiti [email protected] ; [email protected] Nigel Durrant, CARICOM [email protected]; [email protected] Desiree Field Ridley, CARICOM [email protected] Richard Blair [email protected] ; [email protected] Luther St.Ville, CDB [email protected], [email protected] Richard Sadler, Haiti Broilers SA [email protected] ; [email protected] Alain Thermil, IICA Haiti [email protected] Godfrey Eneas, Bahamas [email protected] Gregg Rawlins, IICA [email protected] Alfredo Mena, IICA Haiti [email protected] Rachelle Pierre-Louis, IICA Haïti [email protected] Deep Ford, FAO Caribbean Region [email protected] Lystra Fletcher Paul, FAO Caribbean Region [email protected] Fransen Jean, FAO Caribbean Region [email protected] Jerome Thomas [email protected] Nisa Surujbally, CARICOM [email protected]

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a) Some Pictures:

From left to the right: Minister Jaques Thomas and Ambassador Manorma Soeknandan during the opening

From left to the right: Mr. Deep Ford, Minister Jacques Thomas and Carl Monde/advisor to the Minister during the closure

From left to the right: Carl Mondé, Frits Ohler, Minister Jacques Thomas, Pierre Andre Paul, Alfredo Menard, Rachelle Pierre Louis and Consul Alex Jospitre, preparing the seminar.

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From left to the right: Hon. Consul Alex Jospitre, Carl Monde and Volny Paultre, during the seminar.

Ambasador Eneas Godfrey at the seminar Mr. Richard Sadley and Minister Thomas after the seminar

From left to the right: Minister Thomas Jacques, and Mr. Ronald Beaufils and Reginald Timmer during their presentation on taxes

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On the right, Mr. Luther St. Ville from the CDB, during his presentation

Mr. Pierre paul Andre on the left, and Mr. Henriot Nader on the right Mrs. Rachelle Pierre Louis giving comments before discussions

Mr. Fransen Jean rapporteur of the seminar

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