Trade is one of the official themes of the currently underway 2023 United Nations Climate Change ‘Summit’ (COP 28) in Dubai to which the Caribbean is currently paying attention. Trade in the Caribbean context is linked to a range of other critical regional developmental issues, one of those being food security, arguably, currently the foremost issue on the region’s agenda. In Dubai, the issue of trade as part of the broader package of issues on its agenda is being addressed against the backdrop of the wider issue of trade and its links to climate change.
In Dubai, the UN small business agency, named the International Trade Centre (ITC) has reportedly been assigned the task of bringing the voices of the international small business community to the trade and climate discussions. Bearing in mind that small businesses comprise around 90% of all business houses and accounts for two thirds of all jobs, globally, the perspectives of the ITC clearly belong at any global forum that seeks to pursue meaningful discourse with the international small business community. Perhaps, more to the point, the Dubai opportunity affords small businesses an enhanced opportunity to share their perspectives on small business policies.