Barbados is to benefit from a technical assistance grant to be provided by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
That’s according to Francisco Javier Urra, Chief of Operations, at the IDB Barbados Country Office. He made the disclosure while speaking yesterday at the launch of the Barbados Electronic Single Window (BESW) at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, by the Barbados Competitiveness Project (BCP) in collaboration with the IDB. The IDB provided a US$10 million loan to execute the BCP and the remaining funds of the overall US$11.8 million project was provided by the Government of Barbados.
Urra said while the loan that supported the BCP is about to come to an end, the IDB intends to make a technical assistance grant of up to US$400 000 available, to allow the policy dialogue, technical assistance and support from the IDB to continue beyond the life of the loan. He revealed that this was discussed during the portfolio review meeting last November with Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Christopher Sinckler, and the project team is already working on getting that grant ready.
“The IDB is proud to be the leading multilateral agency in supporting Trade Facilitation, not only in Barbados or the Caribbean, but in all the Americas. The main advantage we have is the access to best practices, world-class technical knowledge, and practical experience from many other countries,” he said.
In reference to the ESW, the IDB’s Chief of Operations said while it reflects a number of benefits, the work is not completed yet. In fact, he argued that in some ways it will never be, as “it will be a work in progress”.
“This is a continuous effort of constant improvement.
The next step, for instance, is the interoperability of the Electronic Single Window with other Single Windows and the implementation of a Cargo Examination Facility and a Port Community System, that can act as a single window on the logistic chain. We look forward to continuing that work,” he stated.
Meanwhile, he took the opportunity to congratulate the Government of Barbados for engaging in the BCP, noting that while it was not an easy one, it was necessary. With that in mind, he said that today Barbados is a more competitive country. (JRT)