Turks and Caicos Delegation visits Puerto Rico Haino Port in DR

#TurksandCaicos, October 22, 2021 – The Minister of Immigration and Border Services Hon. Arlington Musgrove and Minister of Home Affairs Hon. Otis Morris, along with Ports Authority Chairman, Urban Francis and officials from their ministries, including the Acting Deputy Permanent Secretary Chawa Williams, Head of Secretariat Jenika Laporte, Director of Ports Delton Jones, and Director of EMS, Garvin Thomas returned from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on the 17th of October 2021, following meetings with management and staff of Puerto Rio Haino (HIT) focusing on trade and ports development opportunities and prospects.

Puerto Rio Haino is a very successful twenty (20) years old port concession that facilitates global trade with the Dominican Republic. HIT is very keen to share its experience with ports in the Caribbean through port operations, collaboration and trade development, capitalizing on its comparative advantage and scale.

HIT’s strategic objectives are consistent with the government’s desire to transform the TCI’s ports and diversify trade to reduce the cost of living and doing business in the TCI.

Reflecting on the outcomes of the meetings with HIT, Hon. Musgrove said “I am pleased with the outcome of the various meetings with the team from the HIT. The information received will undoubtedly add value to the TCI’s position in the wake of our Ports redevelopment project, and plans by my Government to diversify our Trade Sector. We are grateful to have been accommodated and anticipate fostering of an ongoing relationship of mutual exchange of information, best practices and assistance.”

Hon Morris added, “I am grateful for the opportunity to have accompanied the Minister to these meetings and particularly realizing the relevance of the Ports redevelopment and its importance in cross Border Trade, and I am eager to be a part of the decisions to positively impact the lives of our people.”

Ports Authority Chairman Francis elaborated “I am thankful to both Hon. Musgrove and Hon. Morris for the opportunity to participate in these meetings. The knowledge will be helpful not only in our redevelopment project but also in our Port Security and Safety enhancement plans, and our capacity building initiatives among staff.”

Areas discussed during the visit to HIT included: staff development in areas such as port security and safety, port container scanner, port digitalization and customs single window, port certification and adoption of global standards, port dredging and environmental issues and trade development opportunities focusing on developing new source markets for the TCI to take advantage of the manufacturing sector in the Dominican Republic and its global trade volumes and links which could drive down freight rates.

Hon. Musgrove observed that the discussions during the visit highlighted a number of areas for possible collaboration between the HIT and the TCI. He proposed the formation of a Joint Working Group of officials from the TCI and HIT to prioritize areas for collaboration and develop a work plan to appraise these opportunities.

The visit also afforded the TCI delegation the opportunity to observe the operations of Puerto Rio Haino.