Dominica’s Prime Minister Mr Roosevelt Skerrit signed his country on to two important regional agreements on the side-lines of the 31st Inter-Sessional Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre (LESC) in Barbados, Wednesday.
These are:
- The Protocol on Public Procurement for the Caribbean Community, which gives individuals and firms the opportunity to bid for public sector contracts in all CSME-participating Member States on the Regional Procurement Notice Board. The Protocol is aimed at creating the necessary competitive and non-discriminatory conditions to facilitate the achievement of best value for money, while also providing access to a single market with regional sales. Dominica brings the number of signatories to the five required to bring the Protocol into effect. The other signatories are Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
- The Agreement on the Return or Sharing of Recovered Assets, which is intended to strengthen regional cooperation in this area by establishing a framework for the return or sharing of illicitly acquired proceeds that have been confiscated. The Agreement also facilitates the provision of assistance to victims of money laundering and increased financing for regional security institutions.