Relations between CARICOM and Central America and the Dominican Republic: a window of opportunity for trade and investment

Abstract

This publication represents a contribution by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Organization of American States (OAS) to an analysis of the potential and the opportunities for trade, investment, and strategic partnerships between Central America, the Dominican Republic, and the Caribbean. The study covers the 14 countries of CARICOM: Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. It also analyzes the countries of Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama) and the Dominican Republic, treating them as a single group under the denomination Central America and the Dominican Republic (CA&DR), in recognition of their similarity and their membership (or, in the case of the Dominican Republic, associate membership) in the Central American Integration System. ECLAC and the OAS are making this report available to governments and the general public in Latin America and the Caribbean as a way of demonstrating the importance of relations between the countries of the Caribbean and those of Central America. The organizations hope in this way to contribute to a better understanding of the advantages and challenges facing both sub-regions, and in particular to highlight the potential for achieving greater integration and creating better living conditions for their citizens.