Ambassador Richard Bernal. - File

Ambassador Richard Bernal has been chosen as the first recipient of the Jamaica Stock Exchange's (JSE) inaugural Regional Award, to be conferred at a capital markets conference in Montego Bay this month.

"We believe that by the service that he has given to Jamaica and the Caribbean community, Ambassador Bernal exemplifies the true regional Caribbean spirit," said JSE General Manager Marlene Street-Forrest.

Dedicated worker

"He has done us proud and has always worked for the community's best interest."

Bernal as director general of the Caricom Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM) has been at the forefront of trade negotiations for the 15-nation bloc.

Most recently, he led negotiations on behalf of Cariforum (Caricom plus the Dominican Republic) for a new free trade agreement with the European Union.

The agreement has its critics, but the new pact has also been lauded for breaking new ground on behalf of Caribbean industry.

As CRNM director, Bernal oversees negotiating teams in the capitals of Castries, Bridgetown, Kingston, Brussels and Geneva, and is adviser to regional governments on external trade policy.

The JSE lauds the Ambassador, an economist and former banker, as a champion of small economies in trade deals.

"Through his advocacy and publications he effectively advanced policy in this area as the first chair of the Working Group on Small Economies of the FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas) and was instrumental in introducing the topic to the World Trade Organisation and the Doha Development Agenda," said the exchange in a statement.

The JSE Investment and Capital Markets Conference is set for January 29 to February 1 at the Rose Hall Resort and Country Club, Montego Bay.

The conference is held annually.

Discussions this year will include two controversial topics: offshore banking an investment schemes, with Christopher Jarvis of the International Monetary Fund to detail the experience of Albania whose economy was derailed under the collapse of pyramid or ponzi schemes.

business@gleanerjm.com