Your country The Americas and the Caribbean A quick Look

your country

The Americas and the Caribbean – A QUICK LOOK!

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Commerce of Antigua and Barbuda notified the Embassy of Ecuador that the Antigua government decided to eliminate its visa requirement for Ecuadorian citizens, who will now be able to enter Antigua and Barbuda (one of the thirteen countries that make up the Caribbean Sea Islands) for a period of up to 90 days. Chet Greene, Foreign Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, also announced that a visa will be granted to citizens of the Dominican Republic who carry passports with American and European visas.

BARBADOS. According to the recently-published ‘Worldwide Broadband Speed League’ report by the British firm Cable, Barbados is the country in Latin America and the Caribbean with the fastest Internet browsing speed with 17.08 megabytes per second (Mbps) average download speed. On the American continent, according to the report, the United States registered 25.86 Mbps average download speed and occupied 20th place; while Canada clocked 19.48 Mbps and was ranked 33. Singapore leads the global browsing speed ranking with 60 Mbps.

CANADA. Canada to become the first G7 country to join the Pacific Alliance as an associate member. The bloc was founded by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Canada joined as an observer in September 2012 and in June 2017 received a formal invitation to start the process that would make it an associated member of the Alliance by the end of 2019. Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Jim Carr, Minister of International Trade Diversification, have expressed the need to enter into a trade agreement with both the Pacific Alliance and MERCOSUR.

BAHAMAS. After the devastating passing of Dorian, the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the northwestern Bahamas, thousands left the country by air and sea, but most Bahamians have stayed to rebuild their lives and keep the tourism industry running on the archipelago islands that were not damaged. The idea of the authorities and locals is that tourists who planned to visit their paradisiacal beaches not change their plans or stop visiting. Tourism accounts for 50% of the GDP of the Bahamas, which is US $5.7 billion, according to the Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA).

BELIZE. The West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) is in danger of extinction. There are only a few thousand left in Belize and a similar amount in Mexico. These gentle and slow marine mammals are leaving Mexico and have moved to the Caribbean, according to Belizean researcher Jamal A. Galves, in search of more pristine, healthy, and survival-friendly ecosystems, qualities that, unlike Mexico, Belize still offers. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has warned of the dangers surrounding this sirenium that can weigh up to 1,500 kilos and measure up to 4.6 meters. and measure 4.6 meters.

COSTA RICA. Dyalá Jiménez Figueres, Costa Rica’s Minister of Foreign Trade, informed that her country’s entry into the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) will be evaluated by the authorities of said agency in March 2020 and, in the event of meeting all the requirements, Costa Rica would receive a communication to formalize its incorporation 2 months later. The OECD, the select club of so-called ‘rich countries’ (in which there are only two Latin American nations), is made up of 36 countries that together represent more than 70% of the world market.

COLOMBIA. José Manuel Restrepo, Colombian Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism; and Flavia Santoro, President of ProColombia were in Mexico City on September 19th and 20th. There, they met to explain the advantages of investing in Colombia to 65 Mexican entrepreneurs from sectors ranging from energy, hydrocarbons, agribusiness, tourism and creative industries. They also met with two multinational companies that do business in Mexico, which they invited to visit the Colombian market. In the first half of 2019, Mexican investment in Colombia reached US $259 million.

DOMINICA. Dominica, a small country on a mountainous island in the Caribbean with tropical forests and natural hot springs, carries a very heavy weight. Out of all Latin America and the Caribbean, it is the nation that owes the most to the People’s Republic of China. After Dominica is Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Jamaica. China’s role as an international financial actor continues to generate intense debate. According to a recent study by Horn, Reinhart and Trebesch, 80% of the countries on the planet owe the Chinese. Between 2005 and 2018, it is estimated that China lent almost 141 billion dollars to Latin America.

CUBA. With 11.2 million inhabitants, the island of Cuba already has 5.5 million active cell phone lines, of which 2.5 million have access to the Internet, said the vice president of the Chamber of Commerce of Cuba, Rubén Ramos Arrieta, during a business forum held at the National Hotel of Havana. The forum lasted two days and was attended by representatives from American companies Liberty Latin America Ltd., S3, C&W Networks, Akerman LLP and Transfer To, interested in exploring the Cuban telecommunications market despite the commercial embargo on the island.

EL SALVADOR. Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Qin Gang, and the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in El Salvador, Ou Jianhong, highlighted that bilateral trade has grown significantly in the first year of diplomatic relations between the two nations. Salvadoran exports to the Asian giant increased by 82%, with sugar shipments and the recent entry of Salvadoran gold coffee standing out. Once El Salvador cancels its FTA with Taiwan, China will begin negotiations for the signing of a free trade agreement with the Central American country.

GRENADA. Grenada, the second smallest independent country in the Western Hemisphere, located in the southeastern area of the Caribbean Sea, which until 1983 was a convulsed communist country allied with Cuba and the Soviet Union, today left behind its socialist past and shows its best face to tourism. According to American magazine Coastal Living, Grenada had one of the most elegant beach hotels in the world in 2019. This is the ‘Silversands Grenada’, a recently built hotel complex in St. George, which has 43 suites, the longest swimming pool in the Caribbean and rates starting at $800.

GUATEMALA. With the purpose of consolidating the insertion of Guatemala into the global market of goods and services, the Government of the Central American country has implemented the National Quality Policy for the period 2019-2032. The measure announced by the Minister of Economy Acisclo Valladares Urruela seeks to promote investments, boost competitiveness, and especially benefit non-traditional export products, “that already compete in an external market with high quality standards,” said the Deputy Minister of Investment and Competition, José Ramón Lam.

GUYANA. Guyana, one of the smallest and poorest countries in South America may have the highest per capita oil production in the world, disrupting the relationship with its neighbors Suriname, Venezuela, and Brazil. The British company Tullow Oil plc announced weeks ago the discovery of substantial and high-value oil in Guyana after drilling its Jethro-1 offshore well by the Stena Forth drilling vessel, at a total depth of 4,400 meters. The finding includes sandstone deposits containing high quality oil from the lower tertiary era.

HONDURAS. Negotiations are underway for the signing of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Honduras and Israel, Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández confirmed following a meeting with the Prime Minister of the Jewish State, Benjamin Netanyahu. The Honduran p resident said that the three-day visit to Jerusalem also served to outline some bilateral agreements for the development of state-of-the-art agriculture, technolo-gy, education and innovation. Israel is a powerful economy of 369 billion dollars, superior to that of all of Central America.

NICARAGUA (Photo - La Prensa, U. Molina)

NICARAGUA. Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, recently hosted “Expo Taiwan 2019”, a fair that helped Nicaraguan and Taiwanese entrepreneurs improve and explore opportunities for trade and business of their products. The Taiwanese presented in Nicaragua virtual reality games, innovative irrigation systems, mobile phones, LED lighting, and the latest in transport, computer products, food, industrial and household appliances. Taiwan finances 27 projects in Nicaragua in various areas worth between 30 and 50 million dollars, according to the Nicaraguan government.

HAITI. Guy Metayer, Ph.D, in charge of Commerce at the Haitian Embassy in the Argentine Republic, visited northeastern Argentina in September to thank the hospitality of the South American country to Haitian migrants and to strengthen cultural and business ties. The Caribbean diplomat visited officials from the Argentine provinces of Chaco, Corrientes, Formosa and Misiones to discuss the possibility of creating a chamber of commerce made up of businessmen from those Argentine provinces and their Haitian peers, in order to boost the bilateral export of products.

JAMAICA. Jamaican Minister of Culture Olivia Grange demanded the British Government return two sculptures, 500-year-old Taino figures representing Boinayel, the God of rain, and another of the bird man, found in a cave in 1792, that are in the hands of the British Museum in London. Although they are not on display and were pillaged when Jamaica was a British colony (from 1707 to 1962), these indigenous treasures, “have no economic value,” said the minister, adding, “they are a significant part of the history of Jamaica.”

PANAMA. The Government of Panama has created the Pro Panama program, an agency attached to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs whose purpose is to attract investments and promote exports. Pro Panama will work directly with embassies and consulates, turning them into tools to promote Panamanian exports to international markets. Currently, Panama exports only 10 of 139 products it can ship to the United States, within the framework of the United States — Panama Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA) in effect since 2012.

PARAGUAY. The Omega Green complex will be built in Paraguay with an investment of US $800 million and be the first renewable biofuel production plant in the Southern Hemisphere and the most advanced in the world. This was made known by businessman Erasmo Carlos Battistella, president of the Brazilian multinational company ECB Group, after meeting with Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez. The industrial plant, to be installed in the city of Villeta, will generate 5,400 jobs and produce renewable diesel (HVO) and kerosene (SPK) for civil and military aviation, with a production of up to 20,000 barrels per day.

PUERTO RICO. Ajit Pai, president of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), proposed the allocation of US $950 million to strengthen, improve and expand broadband networks in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, following the devastation of hurricanes Irma and María in 2017. This financing would serve to “deploy the networks of tomorrow; including gigabit and 5G fiber in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. It will also ensure that Americans who live there can participate in ecommerce and stay connected when they need it most,” said Ajit Pai.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. The digitalization of financial services is gaining ground every day globally. However, countries like the Dominican Republic are moving forward in this process at a slower pace. Less than 40% of consumer payments in Dominican stores are made through electronic means, which shows a very high use of cash. Gabriel Pascual, director of Mastercard in the Dominican Republic, said that paying in cash is more complicated, expensive and insecure, both personally and for businesses.

SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS. The National Assembly of the small Caribbean nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis passed a new law that decriminalizes the use of small amounts of marijuana for medicinal and religious purposes. The measure, which the Government described as historic, replaces some criminal penalties with fines and community service. In turn, it allows the use of the drug in places of worship for the Rastafarian community, a socio-cultural and religious movement of Jamaican origin. The new law does not allow the sale of cannabis and restricts its use around minors.

SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES. This southern Caribbean country hosted the Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development, an event organized by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) in association with the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism Authority (SVGTA) and was aimed at addressing the urgent need for a transformative and disruptive tourism product to face the challenges of the industry. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is heading towards being a greener destination with the construction of a geothermal plant to complement the country’s hydroelectric and solar power capacity.

VENEZUELA (Photo - George Steinmetz, Fortune)

SAINT LUCIA. In an emotional ceremony, the Government of Saint Lucia, an island country in the Caribbean with just over 180,000 inhabitants, welcomed the outstanding performance of its athletes in the Lima 2019 Pan American Games: Levern Spencer, gold medal in high jump and Albert Reynolds, bronze medal in javelin throwing. Prime Minister Allen Chastanet accompanied by the Minister of Sports, Edmund Estaphane, and the president of the Olympic Committee of Saint Lucia, Fortuna Belrose, suggested naming “Medal Drive” to one of the country’s roads in tribute to both athletes.

SURINAME. Suriname is a country in South America considered one of the greenest in the world (93% of its territory is jungle rich in flora and fauna) and today is much closer to the rest of America thanks to Copa Airlines, one of the best airlines in the world according to the American magazine Money, of Time Inc.. Copa Airlines started operations with its new route to Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname, that is now interconnected with 80 other destinations and 32 countries in the Americas through the Hub of the Americas, operations center located at Tocumen International Airport in Panama

REPUBLIC OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO. Robert Le Hunte, Senator and Minister of Public Services of Trinidad and Tobago, revealed in the framework of the 35th CANTO Annual Conference and Trade Exhibition, held in the city of Port of Spain, that Telecommunications Services of Trinidad & Tobago (TSTT) has partnered with Huawei to implement 5G technologies before the end of 2019. 5G technology is the next step to ensure that Trinidad and Tobago is well equipped to survive and thrive in the ever-changing digital economy, achieving greater foreign direct investment,” said Le Hunte.

VENEZUELA. Despite the crisis in Venezuela, there are still US companies that continue to operate there. One of them is Chevron, the third largest publicly-traded oil company in the world and the only major US oil company that continues to work in Venezuela (ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips left in 2007). Chevron’s oil production in Venezuela was around 34,000 barrels per day in the second quarter of 2019, which represents only 1% of Chevron’s global production, making its Venezuela operations unprofitable.