OUR SPEAKERS

HON. PARMANAND SEWDIEN

Hon. Parmanand Sewdien is the Chair of the CRFM Ministerial Council for 2022-2023. Having been appointed Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry & Fisheries in Suriname in July 2020 he became a member of the CRFM Council the highest decision-making body of the CRFM. Along with other Fisheries Ministers from CRFM Member States Hon Sewdien promotes efficient management, conservation, and development of our fisheries, and the strengthening of technical co-operation through technology transfer, information exchange, and networking both regionally and internationally He is the co-founder and former chair of the Suriname Seafood Association (SSA), and a former board member of the Caribbean Network of Fisherfolk Organisations (CNFO)

HON. SABOTO CAESAR

The longest serving member of the CRFM Ministerial Council, Hon Caesar the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry & Labour, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines presided as chair of the Council from 2021-2022 Minister Caesar was an International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA) 2022 Champion, demonstrating his commitment to ensuring and safeguarding the social and ecological sustainability of small-scale fisheries and aquaculture in the region His wideranging professional experience was garnered from his work as a lawyer, community worker, Government Senator, and Minister

MR. JOSEPH COX

Mr Cox is the Assistant Secretary-General, Economic Integration, Innovation and Development, CARICOM Secretariat Mr Cox’s many contributions include the recent authoring of the book, “The New Normal – A Post-COVID Primer for Business ” He also authors and publishes “CARICOM Business” a weekly regional business newsletter with international circulation He led the development and implementation of a Regional Strategic Intervention Framework – dubbed the Programme of Technical Assistance to CARICOM Territories (PACT) and was the mastermind behind the Made in CARICOM Initiative