OECS Director General Features at the Global Business Forum in Dubai

Dr. Jules featured on the panel themed ‘Building Stronger Trade Infrastructure’ alongside Former President of Brazil’s National Association of Airport Management Companies Dyogo Oliveria and Secretary-General of Latin American Service Exporters Javier Pena Capobianco. The panel did a deep dive into many of the infrastructural constraints affecting trade in Latin America and the Caribbean, including issues of poor infrastructure, fragmented logistics, legal and regulatory deficiencies, as well as the impact of the COVID19 pandemic on trade in the region. 

In speaking to the unique challenges of small island developing states, specifically those of the OECS region, Dr Jules stated, 

‘’We are among the most tourism-dependent economies in the world. The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a shutdown of the tourism industry, and in one month, we had a total of 3,340 flights grounded. This had a tremendous impact on supply chains and food imports, but also created opportunities for a transformational approach. It is no longer about restarting the economy but finding ways to reinvent our economy in green, resilient ways.”

Dr Jules continued,

‘’The regionalisation of trade and the supply chain is an important step in that direction. Trade has three channels: air, sea, and IT. The latter is now vital in almost every aspect of our lives. We have to approach it with design thinking; we cannot focus on just one element, it has to be a symbiotic approach.”

Dr. Jules also met with several business and government leaders during his time at the Global Business Forum, with the aim of developing relationships and seeking opportunities to boost trade and investment in the OECS.