“We are excited to ramp up collaboration with Suriname to improve the export competitiveness of its private sector as well as attract foreign direct investment to the country.” says Mr. Deodat Maharaj – Executive Director of Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export).

Mr. Maharaj made these remarks, on April 7, 2022, as Caribbean Export welcomed a high-level delegation from Suriname led by HE Albert R Ramdin – Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation to its headquarters at Baobab Towers, Bridgetown, Barbados.

The delegation also comprised HE Armand Achaibersingh – Minister of Finance and Planning and HE Parmanand Sewdien – Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries as well as members of the Surinamese diplomatic corps and private sector representatives.

It was agreed that Caribbean Export will provide support to Suriname in several key areas in the coming 6 to 8 months. These include assistance to strengthen the investment promotion capacity; direct support to business enterprises; support to the creative sector and in market requirements to enable penetration of new markets.

To fast-track this collaboration, it was decided that a technical mission from Caribbean Export will visit Suriname the week of April 18- 22, 2022.

On behalf of Suriname, Minister Ramdin thanked Caribbean Export for the constructive engagement and agreed on the path forward, noting that “Caribbean Export is highly necessary … as we are trying to reboot our economy [and] export is a major part of that.” He continued, “…there are several ways that Caribbean Export can support Suriname’s private sector… in technical assistance, information sharing, on the ground assistance as well as assistance with organising our export promotion agency.”