According to the President, the establishment of the service between these nations will provide enormous opportunities for much-needed financial and commercial movement of food and commodities.

Officials have recognized that the lack of affordable travel continues to be one of the main obstacles to trade and the movement of skilled labor within the Caribbean and expect the initiative to provide for better prices than air fares if slower vessels are used.

Since 2022, these member states of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) have been working to set up a regional ferry network, and have forged closer ties with the United Arab Emirates to obtain financing to make it possible to initiate this type of transportation.

At the time, the Caribbean Development Bank was tasked with developing a proposal for a fast ferry service with an initial focus on the public-private partnership model that would include improving the docks, according to a study conducted for the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America.

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