Strengthening of the Capacity of Jamaica’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in International Trade

Our team implemented a training programme to build the institutional capacity of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (MFAFT) to more effectively implement the CARIFORUM–EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). The initiative focused on equipping public officials with tools, skills and data-driven approaches to enhance Jamaica’s trade negotiation capabilities and regulatory analysis.

The project addressed two interconnected priorities:

• Strengthening the technical and analytical skills of MFAFT staff in trade negotiation techniques and strategies, the of trade research tools and databases, trade policy analysis and interpretation of trade statistics, and training of trainers to ensure institutional knowledge retention
• Conducting a legal and regulatory gap analysis to assess Jamaica’s legal and regulatory framework, identifying restrictions that hinder the entry of EU service providers in six key sectors and propose reforms.