COSTA RICA is the first Central American country to establish a free-trade agreement with Caribbean Community (CARICOM) states. The Jamaican Parliament is still to ratify the agreement.

The Central American economic powerhouse of 50,000 square kilometres and 4.5 million people exports 4,000 products to 150 countries. Costa Rican companies export 60 per cent of their production. The country's per capita income of US$10,000 is the highest in Central America.

Many international companies, such as Hewlett Packard, Procter and Gamble and Intel, operate in Costa Rica.

In an interview with Associate Editor Byron Buckley, Costa Rica's Foreign Trade Minister, Marco Vinicio Ruiz, identifies opportunities in his country for Jamaican investors. He also provides insight into how Costa Rica has insulated itself from the full effects of the global recession through a diversified economy.

Why has Costa Rica entered into a free-trade agreement with CARICOM countries like Jamaica?

I believe it is important for regions to find a way to trade and have more economic arrangements. Costa Rica can supply the Caribbean with a variety of fresh produce, and is already doing that with some countries. The trade with Jamaica has been very good; our trade promotion agency has good relations with its Jamaican counterpart.

Since the agreement with Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), trade has grown 300 per cent both ways. For example, insurance companies from T&T are operating in Costa Rica, and we have increased our output to them. With Jamaica being a larger economy in terms of population, and with tourism so significant, there are a lot of opportunities for Costa Rica to trade here.

I think it is very important for Jamaican producers and business people to get to know the Central American market. One way to do this is through Costa Rica, and we already have a trade agreement. The Central American market is more than 40 million people. The United States exports more to Central America than to Russia, for example.

Do Costa Ricans and Jamaicans have a similar cultural background?

There is a very significant population of Jamaican descendants in the Caribbean region of Costa Rica. If you go to any of our Caribbean regions, you will feel like you are in Jamaica; it is the same people, including even politicians. There is a congresswoman, Epsie Campbell, running for the opposition party as a presidential candidate; she is of Jamaican heritage. Three other congresswomen of Jamaican heritage represent the ruling party in the Caribbean region.

Even our national soccer team has players of Jamaican descent. So, I think we share a lot.

For us, it is very important in this world to have an agreement in place for the long term to facilitate investment flow. I can invite Costa Rican tourism companies to come here to have exchanges with their Jamaican counterparts.

How easy it is for CARICOM firms to establish a business in Costa Rica?

We are very open; we don't make any capital requirement for establishing a company in Costa Rica. We recently reduced the approval period from 50 to two days for electronic application to establish a business. We already have an international business sector, plus good relations with Asia and the rest of Central America.

What are the business opportunities in Costa Rica for CARICOM investors?

A variety of opportunities exist: we consume fresh produce all year round; lots of companies are involved in Web design; and others are involved in the production of documentaries and short films. For example, in Costa Rica, lots of companies are coming from the US to film reality television shows in our jungles.

Is there a market for Jamaica's expertise in the cultural or entertainment industry?

We receive a lot of musicians from Jamaica because many of the people here have Jamaican roots. There are lots of jazz bars and the music is from the Caribbean. We are trying to organise an event in Costa Rica with Jamaican music and cultural arts and invite other Central American countries and have a business exchange.

What are your economic advantages in Costa Rica?

Costa Rica is not a cheap-labour country. It has well-qualified people. We have invested for 50 years in the education of the people. We even still have government banks operating alongside privately owned banks. We are a social democracy. (Costa Rica ranks 22nd behind Jamaica on the World Press Freedom Index for 2008, produced by Reporters Without Borders). It is the longest democracy in the region, going for 100 years.

We have just opened our telecoms market and there is a Jamaican company - Digicel - that will be participating. Digicel has opened an office in Costa Rica and has even sponsored the national soccer team. So, there are a lot of opportunities in the country.

How has Costa Rica weathered the global economic meltdown?

We are in very good shape now. Our exports of largely electronic goods are down 12 per cent in the first quarter. We have had an impact on construction, which has slowed down. But because our economy is diverse, we have been able to keep our employment high. Unemployment in Costa Rica is less than five per cent. We know that some companies have left the country and some have shut down their plants.

Because the government owned two banks, we were able to set up a Shield plan to ensure that poverty did not rise, and that children attended school.

We have tourism, hi-tech manufacturing, retrofitting of old medical devices, for example by Boston Pacific. We are now moving into health tourism. The clinics are already in Costa Rica. We are diversified.

At the same time, we are in many markets, and that helps. For example, Panama has been growing for the last two years. Our trade with Panama has been growing at 30 per cent per year. And we have signed a new trade agreement to come into force next January.

After the US, our second trading partner is the People's Republic of China, in electronics, and lately, meat. Costa Rica both designs and assembles electronic products. We are taking advantage of well-qualified, English-speaking workers. There is a national programme to promote English as a second language. Over the last two years, more than 200 Costa Rican companies have begun to export to China. Although China is an export economy, it is also the fastest-growing consumption economy.