The Secretary-General of the CARO Center first traveled to St. Martin to attend the 17th Conference on Regional Cooperation for the Caribbean and French Guiana, which took place from April 23 to 25, 2024, in St. Martin, with the theme “Seizing Opportunities and Strengthening Synergies”.

The agenda for this Regional Cooperation Conference focused on several themes:

• Trade exchanges and exports;
• The geopolitical challenges of cooperation;
• Cultural and linguistic exchanges;
• The fight against climate change.

Represented at this 17th edition were the territorial collectives of Guadeloupe, Guyana, Martinique, and St. Barthélemy, as well as the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the Association of Caribbean States (ACS).

The CARO Center was invited to contribute to an event on the first day, co-organized by the organization “Business France” and the interprofessional consular chamber of Saint-Martin. This event facilitated meetings between entrepreneurs and French ambassadors in Caribbean states. During this event, Johann Remaud, Overseas Network Director & Coordinator of the Institutional France Network, presented the support offered by Business France to companies, particularly from overseas territories, looking to expand their activities into other markets. Following this presentation, the CARO Center outlined its role and services, emphasizing the importance for a company to anticipate legal security issues before signing contracts with foreign commercial partners. This event then led to insightful testimonials from companies in Guadeloupe, St. Martin, and St. Barthélemy that have successfully developed their activities abroad, along with discussions with various ambassadors from the region, notably from Jamaica and the Dominican Republic.

Subsequently, the CARO Center was able to participate in other sessions dedicated to trade exchanges, exports, and the political challenges of cooperation.