INTERAMERICAS GATE is an economic observatory project launched in May 2021. It is run by the French Antilles-French Guiana Port-to-Port Coordination Authority (CCIAG). It is designed to be a genuine tool for cooperation between ports and benefits from the involvement of the major sea ports of French Guiana, Guadeloupe and Martinique, Galisbay port in Saint-Martin and Caribbean Maritime University (through its Digital Innovation and Advanced Manufacturing department). This project is financial supported by the European Interred Caribbean programme.

This economic observatory has been set up to achieve several goals:

  • To help ports in the greater Caribbean area and French Guiana get to know each other better,
  • To facilitate port-to-port cooperation so that they can build responses to issues that affect each of them,
  • To stimulate the development of commercial and economic exchanges between territories in the area,
  • To share fact-checked information between the ports so that they can get to know each other better, compare themselves with each other and improve,
  • To pool economic monitoring resources,
  • To gauge the weight of the maritime and port economy in the sector.

 

It is hoped that the Antilles-French Guiana economic observatory, INTERAMERICAS GATE, will become a tool that helps strategic decision-making on issues of shared importance and help optimise port-to-port governance.

The observatory’s initial priorities are as follows:

  • To compile an inventory of maritime lines in the area, gather statistics on ports and track regulatory, tax, customs and health changes.
  • Carry out studies on the cruise, container, bulk and coastal trading markets and new sectors,
  • Assess socio-economic knock-on effects, and the cost of going through a port.

 

The observatory’s study themes will be extended to cover the environment, climate and port operations.

Naturally, once the observatory reaches a certain level of maturity, efforts will be made to develop it by bringing in other ports in the Caribbean, Latin American and Central America.