ITC and CDB announce scaled-up partnership

(Bridgetown/Geneva) – The International Trade Centre (ITC) and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) today announced that they are scaling up their partnership to strengthen support for businesses across the Caribbean region. The announcement was made by CDB President William Warren Smith and ITC Executive Director Arancha González during a meeting at CDB’s headquarters in Bridgetown, Barbados on July 27.

During the meeting, Smith and Gonzàlez signed a partnership agreement, which confirms ITC as one of CDB’s key partners for the implementation of trade-led development projects in the Caribbean region. While having collaborated on a number of projects for several years, it is the first time that the two organizations have formalized a partnership agreement.

‘This agreement represents the ITC and CDB’s shared vision for sustainable economic development in the Bank's Borrowing Member Countries. Through this framework, we look forward to working collaboratively with ITC to implement innovative projects that will boost competitiveness and productivity, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises,’ said Dr. Smith.

Ms. Arancha González said: ‘CDB has a track record of investing in projects that have an impact on people and businesses across the Caribbean. With this agreement ITC and CDB will be able to ensure that more micro, small and medium-sized enterprises are empowered to realize their potential and tap into regional and global value chains.’

As a first step in the new partnership, the two organizations will explore and identify priority sectors and priority countries for interventions. Previous collaboration between ITC and CDB has resulted in successful projects in several countries and has covered areas including agriculture. One such example is the creation of a Trade Information Portal for The Bahamas, which has enabled exporters to better take advantage of opportunities in foreign markets.

About the International Trade Centre

The International Trade Centre is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. ITC assists small and medium-sized enterprises in developing and transition economies to become more competitive in global markets, thereby contributing to sustainable economic development within the frameworks of the Aid-for-Trade agenda and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. For more information, visit www.intracen.org

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About the Caribbean Development Bank

The Caribbean Development Bank is a regional financial institution established in 1970 for the purpose of contributing to the harmonious economic growth and development of its Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs). In addition to the 19 BMCs, CDB’s membership includes four regional non-borrowing members – Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela and five non-regional, non-borrowing members; i.e., Canada, China, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. CDB’s total assets as at December 31, 2016 are USD2.89 billion (bn). These include USD1.59bn of Ordinary Capital Resources and USD1.29bn of Special Funds. The Bank is rated Aa1 Stable with Moody’s and AA+ Stable with Standard and Poor’s and Fitch. Read more at caribank.org.

Contact:
Jarle Hetland
Media Officer, ITC
T: +41 22 730 0145
M: +41 79 582 91 80
E: Hetland [at] intracen.org (Hetland[at]intracen[dot]org)

Sueann Tannis
Head of Corporate Communications, CDB
T: (246) 431-1882
M: (246) 826-3343
El: tanniss [at] caribank.org (tanniss[at]caribank[dot]org )