The Directorate of Quality Control and Consumer Protection of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MCI), in cooperation with the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development, this week organized a national workshop on the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.

By this workshop, the MCI intended educate all sectors involved in the area, inviting them to collaborate in the implementation and application and management of sanitary and phytosanitary measures prescribed by the WTO Agreement "this workshop is part of the willingness of organizers to disclose the necessary tools to best practices, for the support and development of agriculture, trade and food items. Partners from all sectors will have obligatorily to meet the standards set by the government in order to ensure the well-being of citizens and economic development," said Luc Espéca, CEO of MCI, when the opening the workshop.

Ms. Gretchen Stanton, host of this training session, came directly from the WTO headquarters in which she has 28 years of experience, said she was delighted to be in Haiti to share her knowledge and work practices at the WTO, with the participants. She also noted that "sanitary and phytosanitary standards are the main barriers in developing countries."

Joseph Vernet, the Secretary of State for agricultural revival in his speech welcomed the initiative, whose one of the goals is also to help the Haitian companies to better integrate the international market, stressing that "global consumers have become more demanding on the quality of products."

According to Joseph Hughes, Chief of Staff of the acting Minister of Trade and Industry, argued that "the strengthening of competitive conditions of the Haitian economy, the application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures, participate in the construction of a proper commercial Haitian identity, a Haitian quality label, at the sametime, the application of these measures contributes powerfully to stimulate economic recovery, while empowering the Haitian economy to take full advantage of opportunities and facilitate access to international markets."

For her part, Ms. Roberta Jean-Baptiste Director of the Directorate of Quality Control and Consumer Protection "This workshop is undoubtedly the decisive opportunity to provide useful information to all those involved in research on multilateral rules covering the implementation of sanitary and phytosanitary measures in international trade, as they relate to food safety, animal health and plant health, "noting that this activity shows the importance the MCI gives to the popularization of the terms of this agreement, in order to allow operators economic, to acquire knowledge about this aspect of the commercial regulations.

HL/ HaitiLibre