Taiwan Lauded for Backing Local Trade

FOR the past eight years, many Saint Lucian business-owners have experienced varying degrees of transformation, including seeing their businesses benefitting from much-needed networking opportunities.

Thanks to the Saint Lucia-Taiwan Partnership Trade Exhibition, usually held for a few days in November, the Saint Lucian public has also been introduced to entrepreneurs and their vast array of goods and services.

The main purpose of the trade exhibition is to create a platform to introduce Saint Lucian and Taiwanese products to Saint Lucian consumers and promote two-way trade. This year, however, the Taiwanese Embassy partnered with the Ministry of Social Transformation, Local Government and Community Empowerment to organize fund-raising activities for the Community After-School Programme during the November 27-29 exhibition held at the Johnsons Centre in Rodney Bay.

Moreover, Taiwanese Ambassador, Ray Mou, presented a $5000 cheque to Minister Harold Dalson during the opening ceremony of the exhibition to aid in the programme’s continuation.

Deputy Director in the Ministry of Social Transformation, Tanzia Toussaint, said this year was the first time that the ministry has participated officially in the exhibition. She said the charity component served to showcase how the ministry fosters public-private partnerships for the programme.

The Community After-School Programme has been ongoing since 2009 and the ministry is now seeking ways of getting more corporate entities involved in the process to complement the local government’s budget towards that particular programme. The response from the patrons at the programme’s booth, she said, was rewarding.

“At the exhibition, quite a lot of people were impressed with the products that the children were able to make,” Toussaint told The VOICE. “Many of them were even surprised that the children actually had such potential. So hats off to the children from that programme. We also look forward to continue working with the Ministry of Commerce in this regard.”

Toussaint said over 700 children are now participating in the programme island-wide, with each of the programme’s 15 centres catering to about 40 participants. The programme targets vulnerable children between ages 6 and 16. However, Toussaint said the aim is to cast a wider net.

“We’re looking to expand the programme because there are communities where we really want this programme to serve,” Toussaint explained. “We’re hoping that we would be able to do that in the new financial year. Nevertheless, we welcome the support of corporate sponsors.”

Some of the children participating in the after-school programme performed at the exhibition. However, most of them who did, actually had items on display, including necklaces, hats, bags, dresses, slippers and belts. Toussaint said her ministry remains grateful for the embassy’s support.

“This is the second year that the Taiwanese Embassy has come to our assistance,” Toussaint stated. “Last year, they complemented the ministry’s expenditure but this year they made a financial donation and also financed other expenses, including transportation for the children to and from the exhibition, and other material costs.”

Cindy Eugene, the Marketing Specialist, Ministry of Commerce, Business Development, Investment and Consumer Affairs, said hosting this year’s trade exhibition proved increasingly challenging because of the choice of new dates and venue.

Eugene said her ministry was edgy about recording nothing less but success, buoyed by the record number of participants this year: six Taiwanese and 54 Saint Lucian companies. She said that despite many Saint Lucian companies being able to reap rewards from the exhibition, an outstanding challenge remains: creating a niche market for Taiwanese products.

“We want to see the Taiwanese products available here and throughout the region. The exhibition is supposed to be a platform for these companies to showcase these products and source an agents for some of these products,” Eugene told The VOICE.

While the trade exhibition has grown exponentially over the years, Eugene said that had it not been for the support from the Taiwanese Embassy, this would not be possible. Nevertheless, she believes there needs to be a more balanced approach where more input from the ministry’s end can be provided.