Senator the Honourable Aubyn Hill, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce hosted a special breakfast meeting on March 9, 2023, with Senator the Honourable Paula Gopee-Scoon, Minister of Trade and Industry, during the first of Jamaica’s two-day trade mission to Trinidad and Tobago from March 9-10, 2023. The mission, supported by agencies of the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce (MIIC) and the High Commission of Jamaica in Trinidad and Tobago sought to strengthen cooperation in trade and other areas of mutual interest.
In his address, Minister Hill urged Jamaican companies to strengthen strategic business partnerships across industries in the Caribbean and other high performing economies. The Minister invited Trinidadian Business Leaders to invest in Jamaica, but also to partner with Jamaican exporters to create robust trade beneficial to each country. Jamaica, he emphasised is a key market, based on location, financial climate, and economic resilience.
During the event, a member of the Jamaican delegation, Sharonmae Shirley, Chief Executive Officer of the Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation (JANAAC), an agency of the MIIC, joined Minister Hill in affirming the commitment of the Government of Jamaica to develop robust national and regional quality infrastructures through the Agency’s internationally recognised accreditation services. Minister Hill and the JANAAC CEO presented certificates to the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards (TTBS) an agency of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI, for the Accreditation of its Certification Division to the ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 standard for Quality Management Systems and Re-Accreditation of the Implementation Division to the ISO/IEC 17020:2012 standard for Inspection. The Implementation Division was first accredited in 2017 by JANAAC to the ISO/IEC 17020:2012 standard. The TTBS Certification Division was saluted for being the first certification body to be accredited by JANAAC, a hallmark achievement for both entities.
In her remarks at the function, Shirley noted that “Today’s presentation is a signal achievement for the Caribbean as a region. Developing robust national and regional quality infrastructures is the end goal. The CARICOM Regional Organization for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) strategically facilitated this rich collaboration between JANAAC and TTBS aimed at strengthening the region’s quality infrastructure, facilitating increased trade and international competitiveness.”
The MTI Minister, Senator the Honourable Gopee-Scoon, who delivered the keynote address to the Jamaican delegation at the meeting, received the accreditation awards along with Chairman of the TTBS, Lawford Dupres, TTBS Executive Director, José Trejo, Manager for the TTBS Certification Division Rodney Ramnath and Manager of the Implementation Division, Gerard Maxwell.
In his acceptance speech, the TTBS Executive Director, José Trejo shared that “achieving accreditation for the Certification Division and maintaining accreditation for the Implementation Division are critical for maintaining the highest level of quality and credibility in our services. This will benefit Trinidad and Tobago as we continue to develop our economy and build a successful and prosperous society which is based on standards and quality.”
The Jamaica National Agency for Accreditation which is the only internationally recognised accreditation body in the English-speaking Caribbean, delivers technical training and best-in-class accreditation services to conformity assessment bodies (CABs), such as laboratories, inspection and certification bodies in ten (10) CARICOM states. The international recognition of JANAAC’s accreditation programmes results from its signatory status to the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) and the Inter-American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC) Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA).
