 ?? |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Maxine McClean |
Ways in which Barbadians could pursue business opportunities with the People’s Republic of China will be the focal point of a one-day seminar on Tuesday, December 13 at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Two Mile Hill, St. Michael.
Entitled Engaging in China: Options, Opportunities, Strategies, the seminar aims to familiarise various stakeholders with the aspects of doing business with China, including policy, commercial, cultural and other areas. It is also expected to bridge the gap in knowledge with regard to China and raise awareness for both the public and private sectors of any opportunities and challenges.
It will begin with an opening ceremony which will begin at 8:30 a.m. Remarks will be made by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Maxine McClean and China’s Ambassador to Barbados Wei Qiang. Barbados’ Ambassador to China, Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford will deliver the feature address.
Sessions from 9:15 to 11:30 a.m. will examine such topics as Implementing the Barbados-China Tourism Agreement; Preparing the Barbados Tourism industry for Chinese visitors; the State of implementation of the Barbados China Double Taxation Agreement; Giving Barbados a Competitive Advantage; and Opportunities for Foreign Direct Investment.
Other areas for discussion later in the day will include the State of the Chinese Market; Preparing for and Succeeding in the China Market and the Legal and Regulatory Requirements for Trading with China. These will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The seminar will come to a close with a panel discussion on education/training, creative industries; enhancing mutual understanding; and cultural industries.
Panellists will be officials from the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies, the China Barbados Friendship Association and the Embassy of Barbados to China. A review of the Shanghai Expo and Trade Mission will be made by the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA).
Closing remarks will be made by Sir Lloyd and Ambassador Wei at 4:00 p.m.
Facilitators at the seminar will be drawn form the BTA, the Barbados International Business Association, Invest Barbados and the Customs and Excise Department.
For more information, persons may contact Angela Kinch at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade at 431-2255 or email akinch@foreign.gov.bb.