Training in Competition for representatives of Government Ministries – Suriname
On 13th April 2016, was celebrated in Paramaribo (Suriname), a Training in Competition for representatives of Government Ministries. Most attendees were from the Ministry of Trade and Industry while other participants included representatives from the telecommunication sector regulator, consumer non-Government agencies, the national oil company, the Bureau of Standards, the Association of Economists, the Caribbean Competition Commission and the Chamber of Commerce.
Mrs. Bertha Isidore, the Executive Director gave opening remarks in which she provided a brief overview of the Capacity Building Project and then introduced the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mrs. Sieglien Burleson, to provide brief remarks. The Minister thanked the EU for funding the workshop and highlighted the importance of establishing a competition law framework in Suriname. Minister Burleson noted that while that Suriname does not have a national competition law, a Competition Bill has been drafted (with some help from the CCC) and is awaiting approval at the level of Parliament.
The workshop’s facilitator, Mr. Barry Headley, senior economist at the Caricom Competition Commission (CCC), discussed the basics of competition law, the competition laws and national competition authorities in CARIFORUM, the role of competition law in the EPA and the role of civil society in the enforcement of competition law.
The Training Course is an output of the CARIFORUM/EU Capacity Building Project which is funded under the 10th EDF. The project’s overall objective is to support CARIFORUM Member States’ beneficial integration in the world economy. Specifically, it seeks to help member states to implement their EPA commitments in the areas of Competition, Procurement and Customs and Trade Facilitation. A consortium led by Equinoccio (Spain) which includes the London School of Economics, SGS and Maastricht School of Management is implementing the project.