August 10, 2008. The 20th General Assembly of the Caribbean Organization of Tax Administrators (COTA) met in Belize for a conference held in the end of July.
Belize and other 15 Caribbean countries (Antigua, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, St. Kitts & Nevis, Guyana, Turks and Caicos Islands, Haiti, Montserrat, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago) were represented at this 4-day conference.
The participants shared their experiences and ideas and tried to develop systems for improving and modernizing tax administration both at a regional and local level.
The 20th General Assembly of tax Administrators was inaugurated on July 21. Mrs. Marilyn Ordonez, Assistant Commissioner Income Tax, Belize Income Tax Department, addressed the participants marking the significance of the relevance of the theme of the conference that was "Building Efficient Tax Administrations Towards Promoting National and Regional Development".
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July 11, 2008. On July 9, a cheque for USD 12.5 million was presented by the Ambassador of Taiwan, His Excellency Ting Joseph Shih, to Belizean Prime Minister Barrow.
During the ceremony of presenting the cheque to Prime Minister Dean Barrow, Taiwanese Ambassador said that he takes great pleasure on behalf of the Government and people of Taiwan to present USD 12.5 million as the 1st installment of the grant for USD 25 million that will be given to facilitate the budgetary needs of Belizean Government.
Accepting the cheque, Barrow expressed his gratitude to Shih and added that it is half of the 50 million Belize dollars provided to Belize by the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) for its budget preparation.
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June 30, 2008. In the end of June, the Prime Minister of Belize Dean Barrow spoke on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) at a New York conference on the Caribbean 2008 about the issues of trade and investment.
Barrow said that the changing and competitive global economy forced the countries of the Caribbean Community to revise their strategies as this would let to secure the sustainable development. He emphasized that the CARICOM countries can no longer rely on one-way access for exports to traditional markets.
The Prime Minister of Belize said that the USA is the most important trading partner of the Caribbean region. . In 2007, exports to the United States were approximately USD 9 billion. To compare with other partners, Barrow said that CARICOM exports to the EU approximately USD 3.2 billion and to Canada were approximately USD 3.2 billion in 2007.
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May 25, 2008. Going on actively participating in the economic development of Belize, the Belize Trade and Investment Development Service (BELTRAIDE) is currently making efforts to foster cooperation as well as to promote investment with regional partners and Brazilian counterparts. For this purpose, the BELTRAIDE is sending a delegation to the II SICA-Brazil Business Forum that will be held in San Salvador on May 29.
The meeting will be a good opportunity for establishing network and dialogue among various industries, especially infrastructure, bio-fuels, textiles, ethanol, and shoes.
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May 17, 2008. On May 16, Prime Minister Dean Barrow left Belize for Taiwan. He will visit Taipei to attend the inauguration of a new President of Taiwan Ma Ying-jeou. Barrow will return on May 23.
During Barrow's absence, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon. Gaspar Vega, is acting as Acting Prime Minister.
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May 16, 2008. The National MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) Policy will be presented to Belize's Minister for Economic Development, Commerce and Industry, and Consumer Protection, Erwin Contreras, to make Belize more competitive in the Commonwealth.
According to the Government of Belize, the MSME Policy is aimed at innovation and creativity in the field of enhancing the competitiveness of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Belize.
It should be noted that the Commonwealth Secretariat has been working with BELTRAIDE since 2005 with a view to enhance the competitiveness of the MSMEs in Belize.
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April 13, 2008. Recently, Prime Minister Dean Barrow left the country to pay several important international visits to Miami.
Barrow met with World Bank officials on April 6. On April 7 and 8 he attended the Annual Meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as a Governor. Also, he met with officials of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID).
During Prime Minister's absence, Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Gaspar Vega was acting as Prime Minister.
Barrow and his team returned to Belize on April 9.
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April 12, 2008. According to the announcement made by the Government of Belize on April 10, two important Memoranda of Understanding have been recently signed by the jurisdiction.
On March 27, Minister of Agriculture Hon. Rene Montero, signed two Memoranda of Understanding in Spain. The 1st Memorandum was signed between the Government of Spain and OSPESCA (the organization that promotes sustainable management and development of Fisheries and Aquaculture in Central America, OSPESCA includes 7 Central American countries including Belize). The 2nd Memorandum of Understanding that was signed between the Government of Spain and the Government of Belize will formalize the interest expressed by Spain in providing assistance to Belize outside OSPESCA.
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March 28, 2008. On March 21, Prime Minister Dean Barrow returned to Belize from Washington. This working visit to the United States was successful. Dean Barrow met with President Bush, President of the Inter-American Development Bank Mr. Luis Alberto Moreno, and Secretary General of the Organization of American States His Excellency Jose Miguel Insulza.
The visit to the White House was held because of an invitation that President Bush sent to Prime Minister Dean Barrow, as well as to with Prime Minister of the Bahamas the Honorable Hubert Ingraham, and to Prime Minister of Barbados the Honorable David Thompson. This meeting was a friendly discussion of the US President and 3 prime ministers. Topics related to democracy, trade relations, security, and tourism were discussed during the visit.
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March 6, 2008. Belize will benefit from an additional allocation of EUR 7.8 million granted by the European Commission as apart of continued support for the improvement and modernization of the jurisdiction's sugar and banana industries from the EU.
This announced was made on March 3 when 2 financing agreements were signed in Belmopan by the Prime Minister of Belize, Hon. Dean Barrow and the Head of Delegation of the European Commission to Belize, H.E. Ambassador Marco Mazzocchi Alemanni in the Prime Minister's Office.
An additional EUR 6 million has been provided to Belize under the "2007 Accompanying Measures for Sugar Protocol Countries". This sum was given with a view to assist Belize with improvements in the rural sector. Also, an agreement was signed where through the Special Framework of Assistance (SFA) 2007 the southern banana growing area will be provided with an additional EUR 1.8 million.
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February 20, 2008. The United Democratic Party (UDP) had won general election in Belize, so a new Belize's government was formed for the 1st time in 10 years. The Prime Minister of Belize, Dean Barrow, has made an official announcement of a new cabinet.
The winning of the UDP at the elections was announced on February 8, 2008.
Dean Barrow announced the following appointments for his new cabinet:
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Gaspar Vega;
Attorney General, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Wilfred Elrington;
Minister of Economic Development, Commerce, Industry and Consumer Protection, Erwin Contreras;
Minister of Labour, Local Government and Rural Development, Gabriel Martinez;
Minister of Public Utilities, National Emergency Management, Transport and Communications, Melvin Hulse;
Minister of the Public Service, Governance Improvement and Elections and Boundaries, John Saldivar.
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February 7, 2008. The Belize Trade and Investment Development Service (BELTRAIDE) has announced the launch of Action Plan for the coming year. The main goal of this Action Plan is unlocking Belize's potential for more investments and business opportunities as well as job creation. The previous Action Plan was launched on March 1, 2007.
To achieve unlocking potential for investment, business opportunities and job creation, 3 strategic areas have been figures out. These are Investment Promotion, Entrepreneurial Development, and Marketing.
BELTRAIDE has set also two additional goals for 2008 - the development of a National Investment Policy, and the establishment of an Entrepreneurial Development and Trade Center in Belmopan.
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January 28, 2008.
A new regulatory body - Belize Land Transportation Authority (B.L.T.A.) - has been formed with a view to improve Belize's growing transportation industry.
Headed by former Commander of the Belize Defence Force, Brigadier General Cedric Borland, B.L.T.A.. has legal powers under the Belize Land Transportation Authority Act of 2007 as of January 1, 2008. It is an autonomous body which is not dependent on government revenue.
Some of its priority tasks are to improve road traffic safety, to enforce traffic regulations and policies, to provide quality service with the help of acomputerised system and modern technology, to equip and modernize the the Authority.
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