Senator Aubyn Hill, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, is encouraging Jamaican entrepreneurs, based locally and in the Diaspora, to have their businesses showcased on the world stage by using the opportunity offered at the World Free Zones Organization (World FZO) Annual Conference and Exhibition 2022 (AICE 2022) to be held in Montego Bay, June 13 -17 this year. An increasing number of companies around the world are signaling their interest in participating in this premier event.
More than 1,000 delegates from many of the 140 World FZO member countries are expected to be at the Montego Bay Conference Centre for the 8th staging of the annual conference and exhibition, which the Jamaica Special Economic Zones Authority, JSEZA, made a successful bid to host. JSEZA is an agency in Minister Hill’s portfolio.
“The AICE event usually features global free zone practitioners, policy-makers and representatives from multi-lateral organizations who use this event to share experiences and
projections for global commercial activity,” the Minister explained. “We expect stakeholders across multiple industries to be in Jamaica to make decisions about investments and partnerships. It will provide an ideal platform to showcase Jamaican businesses who want to expand, and underscore the excellence of our tourism product and the rich cultural heritage for which we are world renowned.”
The last in-person World Free Zones conference and exhibition saw approximately 700 delegates in Barcelona, Spain in 2019. Minister Hill expects the take up for this staging to be higher. The international business community is anxious to ramp up commercial activity as the pandemic subsides and the more than two-year lapse since the last World FZO conference.
“Jamaica is especially well-suited to host this anxiously awaited World FZO conference. We are always a highly desirable destination for both business and pleasure and this will be the first major business event in Jamaica since 2020,” he elaborated.
He noted that in addition to exhibition spaces, entities will be able to sponsor events and conference areas, affording businesses high visibility and the opportunity to network with potential local and international partners and clients.
AICE 2022 is being held under the theme “Your Partner for Resilience, Prosperity and Sustainability” and the programme will include a Free Zone Outlook international conference where panelists will explore themes including supply chain resilience, global taxation reforms, the future of inclusive e-commerce, and building a new generation of entities committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Environmental, Social and Government (ESG) investment. There will also be an exhibition, workshops, and a Jamaica cultural night.
The website, aice2022.com is now open for registration.
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The Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce is described as Jamaica's "Business Ministry." It's mandate is to lead the development of policies that will create growth and jobs, while achieving social inclusion and consumer protection. The Ministry, working its stakeholders is primarily responsible for business policy development, monitoring and evaluation, while giving direction and oversight to a cluster of implementing departments and agencies.
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