Caribbean Investment Agencies Strengthen Ties with Japan on UNIDO-Funded Tokyo Mission

A UNIDO-funded mission raised the region's profile with Japanese investors and opened new channels between Caribbean investment promotion agencies and Japanese firms.
Representatives of 13 CARICOM investment promotion agencies (IPAs), joined by the Caribbean Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (CAIPA), spent 3 - 10 October 2026 in Tokyo and the surrounding areas on a mission funded by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). The week increased Japanese companies' exposure to the Caribbean and their knowledge of its investment opportunities. It built on long-established ties that include Marubeni in power in Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago, UCC Ueshima Coffee in Jamaica, Mitsubishi in Trinidad and Tobago, and MODEC offshore Guyana.

A Week of Engagement

The week opened with a CARICOM Business Seminar at the United Nations University's Elizabeth Rose Hall, which drew close to 100 participants. The UNIDO Investment Platform (investment.unido.org) was presented there as the entry point for Japanese investors. Three thematic roundtables followed. Ms. Alana Lansiquot (Saint Lucia) led the session on disaster resilience and circular economy, Mr. Kibbyann Chester-Harding (Guyana) led agribusiness and food processing, and Mr. Adrian Sealy (Barbados) led renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure. Japanese firms taking part included Hagiwara Industry, Tokyo Rope, Cold Storage Japan, Mikuniya Corporation and Wesco Inc. Delegates also visited Tobe-Shoji (waste management and plastic recycling), Sakai Heavy Industry (road construction machinery) and Shimadzu Corporation (analysis and measurement devices).

Expected Outcomes and Next Steps

The mission is expected to produce direct contacts between participating IPAs and Japanese companies in the priority sectors. It should also yield partnership proposals that can move to introductory, then technical and commercial, discussions. These will feed a Caribbean investment project pipeline developed through the UNIDO Investment Platform toolkit.

CAIPA intends to continue building the Japan-Caribbean relationship in the near term, working with UNIDO and partners such as JETRO and JICA. Members are encouraged to follow up with the companies they met, prepare investment project profiles for the UNIDO platform, and share leads with the CAIPA Secretariat so that opportunities across several countries can be coordinated. CAIPA thanks UNIDO and its Japanese hosts for a productive week.