BernalWESTERN BUREAU:
JAMAICA AND other Caribbean territories have been accused of suffering a bad case of "xenophobia"- the deep fear of foreign competition, foreign companies and dislike of foreigners.
In levelling the charges, Dr. Richard Bernal, Director General of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) is urging nations in the region to face this fear head on, and snap out of this state of 'ill-health', if they are to increase international competitiveness in production and exports.
"There is a pandemic in Caribbean countries of xenophobia, worrying about foreign resources, foreign investment, foreign firms, foreign managers," laments Dr. Bernal.
"In the globalise economy we have to get by this. There should not be any fears of this because CARICOM, is a very marketable region in terms of human resources, we have produced world class in every area, including business."
Warning that international competition will increase sharply over the coming months and years, Dr. Bernal said a three-pronged approach by the region must include a beefing up of negotiations with countries outside of the Caribbean, strategic global repositioning and urgency in the setting up of a single trading block - the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME).
He believes the CSME is a mandatory policy instrument, if Caribbean countries are to better themselves in the face of a world where trade is far outstripping global production, with the global trade to global production ratio jumping from 1.2 in 1970 to three in the 1990s.
Dr. Bernal is also batting for reform among private sector entities, urging them to review their framework of mergers. He wants private sector groups to seek to form business mergers with partners inside of the region, as a matter of priority instead of being wooed into liaisons with companies outside the Caribbean.
Prime Minister of Barbados, Owen Arthur has also given his support to the call for a change in ownership structure of companies within the Caribbean, by emphasising the need for an increase in Pan Caribbean companies.
Both Dr. Bernal and Prime Minister Arthur were addressing business magnates and trade ministers from the region who has been meeting at the Caribbean Transnational conference, at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Montego Bay. The conference which is being held under the theme "The Caribbean Single Market and Economy: A Strategy for Globalisation" ends on April 21.
