Mr. John Isaacs, Permanent Secretary of the minis

try, made the welcome and opening remarks while Mr. Clement Rohee, Minister of Foreign Trade and International Co-operation presented the feature address.

Isaacs noted that the occasion was significant in that it marked the first launching of a document of its kind locally, the presentation of the new booklet was being done through the initiative of the ministry, and it represented the brainchild of Minister Rohee.

The minister expressed the hope that users would find the booklet informative, and that it would benefit organisations in one way or another.

Rohee recalled that eight months after the establishment of his ministry in August 2001, he had convened a meeting with the local Statistics Providers to discuss issues pertaining to trade statistics for use in the various external trade negotiations in which Guyana is currently engaged.

It was out of this experience that the idea of the review was conceived. The minister pointed out that it was his intention then to lay the basis for a sustainable collaborative relationship between his ministry and the Bank of Guyana, the Statistical Bureau and the Customs and Trade Administration.

Wednesday's launching of the booklet, Rohee said, was but one aspect of that inter-agency co-operation alluded to.

"I emphasise, just one aspect of this inter-agency co-operation, because we have been collaborating in many other key and critical areas such as the preparation of trade data for the CARICOM Secretariat to facilitate the activities of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED)," he stated.

For him, going public with the booklet, which contains a wide range of information and statistics on Guyana's foreign trade, "means subjecting ourselves to greater scrutiny and accountability by the general public".

The minister expressed the view that it was the way to go, since among other considerations, statistical analysis is a good basis for developing public policy, formulating strategic responses, and helping to make critical decisions.

"We believe that a good statistical system would enable a country to form an accurate picture of the challenges confronting it in the region in which it is situated," he added.

Rohee said the "availability of reliable, quality statistics will assist greatly the work of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and International Co-operation and the other agencies contributing to trade policy planning".

He said the Government needed data on trade flows and the direction of trade for a number of reasons, namely:

** Informing internal policy decisions

** To provide the basis for deciding with which countries to negotiate or not to negotiate free trade agreements

** To make educated inputs in key areas of negotiations, as regards CSME, FTAA, WTO, ACP-EU, as well as bilateral trade agreements, and

** To respond to requests for modifications of the Common External Tariff and implementation of safeguards.

The booklet includes messages by Director of the Bank of Guyana, Dr. Ganga Persaud; Commissioner of Customs and Trade Administration, Mr. Lambert Marks; and Chief Statistician of the Bureau of Statistics, Mr. l. Benjamin.

Topics discussed in the document include: Intra Regional Trade, January to June 2001/2002; Guyana's Imports and Exports for the period under review; Summary of Guyana's Imports in 2001 and 2002; Guyana's Rice and Sugar Trade Patterns in the Caribbean and the rest of the world; Foreign Investment Flows to the Caribbean Region; Trade Agreements; and Countries where Guyana's Exports continue to experience Non-Tariff Barriers.