Reading Time: 5 minutes

Ambassador Gail Mathurin, the outgoing director-general of the Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN), has been praised by regional trade ministers as an erudite, shining example of service and consummate professional on her retirement.

Mathurin demits office at the end of the year after spending more than a decade at the helm of the Barbados-based OTN, coordinating the region’s trade policy and steering its positions in the bilateral and multilateral arenas.

Easton Taylor-Farrell, chair of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) and premier of Montserrat, paid tribute to Mathurin alongside ministers and other delegates at the Council’s recently concluded two-day meeting.

Farrell drew attention to the broad depth of her knowledge, experience, and guidance. He thanked her for her service and wished her every success and good health in the future.

Kamina Johnson Smith, minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, led the accolades, describing Mathurin as a distinguished Jamaican who had “blazed a trail on the international stage”.

Said Johnson Smith: “We’ve truly benefited from her wealth of knowledge in an area for which the region is in critical need, raising the bar of excellence in our trade negotiations.”

She recalled that, prior to becoming OTN director-general, Mathurin served her country with distinction, serving initially at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. She served in various other capacities, including as ambassador to Geneva, high commissioner to London, and permanent secretary.

Expressing gratitude to the OTN director-general, Sandra Husbands, minister in the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Barbados, recalled how impressed she was with Mathurin’s professionalism and “complete grasp of the issues” affecting the region trade-wise.

“She has done a wonderful job in leading in organisations and doing work that needs to be done, to represent this region in the many arenas in which she would have executed her tasks. I want to say to her that the region is grateful; we’re thankful…,” Husbands said.

Trinidad and Tobago, via its Minister of Trade and Industry Paula Gopee-Scoon, also expressed appreciation to Mathurin for her exemplary service.

“She’s been a shining example of service to the CARICOM Region,” Gopee-Scoon said, pointing out that Trinidad and Tobago had benefited from her wealth of knowledge in trade negotiations.

Gopee-Scoon also singled out Mathurin’s humility, sanguinity, and her ability “to coalesce and manage a team of professionals in negotiations”.

She added that the diplomat was known for her “innovative solutions to negotiation deadlocks”, quick thinking and proactive proposals on the region’s behalf.

Oliver Joseph, Grenada’s minister of trade, congratulated Mathurin on a “job well done”.

Said Joseph: “She has served us well, her country and her region, and we are very proud to have people like her in the forefront.”

In his tribute, Dominica Trade Minister Ian Douglas said Mathurin has served the region very well, ably navigating it through complex trade matters over the years.

Ramon Cervantes, Belize’s minister of state in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Immigration, recalled the OTN director-general’s contributions and interventions in the meetings, pointing out that they “have been sober and wise counsel”.

George Talbot, Guyana’s ambassador to CARICOM, said the director-general was “a public servant in the best traditions of our region”.

He said the region had benefitted from her selfless dedication to CARICOM, Jamaica, and the region as a whole.

“We have all been inspired by her commitment to excellence, her enormous capabilities, her stellar engagements in the arena of trade negotiations, and the integration process…,” he said.

“We are absolutely proud of the work she has done on behalf of the region.”

For Dr Thomas Samuel, St Lucia’s director of international trade, Mathurin was a shining example to many young professionals in trade. He added that the region had benefitted tremendously from her example, and commended her stellar leadership and stewardship of the OTN.

Joseph Cox, assistant secretary-general, trade and economic integration, in his reflections, praised Mathurin for her erudition and loyalty.

He said she was “always a voice of reason” and that the Executive Management Committee of the CARICOM Secretariat was deeply indebted to her for her contributions

“She has served the region with distinction,” he said.

Responding to the well-wishers, Mathurin thanked the members of COTED for their “very, very kind remarks and best wishes”, which she said had “touched her tremendously”.

She said it was a great honour to have worked in the region for more than 10 years and that, while there were many challenges, high and low points, overall it was an “extremely rewarding experience”.

She also expressed gratitude to the members of COTED for their guidance and friendship and wished them well as they navigated the economic development and trade course in what she described as “the challenging times ahead”.

She also said she deeply appreciated her colleagues at the CARICOM Secretariat, particularly those at the Directorate of Trade and Economic Integration and the OTN.