 Season's greetings to the people of St. Lucia, including the Wires St. Lucia Diospora. Special Christmas greetings also to the kind people of my constituency of Shorzel Saltibus. It brings me immense gratitude and benevolence to address you during this festive season in my capacity as Parliamentary Representative for Shorzel Saltibus and Minister with Responsibility for Commerce, International Trade, Investment, Enterprise Development and Consumer Affairs, two prestigious portfolios which I continue to function in utmost humility and dedication. Christmas is upon us once again, a cheerful, joyous occasion for celebrating with family and friends. As we rejoice and observe the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I want to encourage each one of you to use this time for reflection, thanksgiving and preparing for new beginnings. I know it may also be a difficult time for many of you who have lost loved ones, but I pray that this Christmas brings you much needed joy and renewed strength. As we celebrate this festive season, let's also remember to give thanks and praise to the good Lord for having spared us from the full brunt of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. While we did experience some damages, we are indeed blessed that we were saved from the extreme impact of the natural disasters we experience. I would like to use this opportunity to commend and applaud all public and private sector agencies and the general public for having provided relief supplies and support to our neighbouring Caribbean countries, especially our OECS brothers and sisters of Barbuda and the Commonwealth of Dominica. They experienced loss of lives and significant damages from hurricanes Omer and Maria. Let us all continue to give them support, even through prayers, that they may fully bounce back and become stronger nations. Keep in mind, Saint Lucia, that as you prepare for the coming year to take the necessary mitigation strategies to safeguard your homes and families from disasters, as we strive to build a more resilient nation, considering our innate vulnerability to disasters and the inevitable effects of climate change. To the people of Shoezal Saltybus, who continue to support me as parliamentary representative, I would like to sincerely wish you the very best for this season and the new year. I assure you that I will continue to serve with perseverance and dedication in undertaking projects to develop the constituency so that we can be more productive and better positioned to contribute to the national GDP. I encourage you to remain optimistic and continue working towards the achievement of your goals and the improvement of your community. We are indeed looking forward to a major development taking place in Shoezal with the construction of the hotel at Sabusha by Femont. I remain confident that this hotel investment will have a multiplier effect across various sectors which will benefit many persons of Shoezal Saltybus. I trust that we will see a revitalized Shoezal with increased economic activity, sustainable employment and in effect the holistic growth and development of Shoezal. As it relates to my portfolio as Minister of Commerce, international trade, investment, enterprise development and consumer affairs, it has certainly been an active year for the Department of Commerce having worked on addressing several trade issues to the Karikam Quoted and WTO Ministerial Conference which our businesses continue to encounter in trying to access regional and international markets to the various trade arrangements we are signatory to. Additionally, having recognized that entrepreneurship is the backbone of our economy, the Department in conjunction with its affiliate agencies hosted the third annual business month in November. Business month and tail-hosting of a series of activities aimed at promoting a strong entrepreneurial culture in St. Lucia with a focus on creating businesses that are more sustainable, innovative and creative. The department also celebrated the 10th anniversary of the St. Lucia Taiwan Partnership Trade Show which was hailed a phenomenal success. In so doing, I would like to commend the staff of the Department of Commerce and affiliate agencies. This includes the St. Lucia Chamber of Commerce, St. Lucia Manufacturers Association, St. Lucia Coalition of Services, Invest St. Lucia, St. Lucia Brewer of Standards and the Trade Export Promotion Agency for your tremendous support and hard work towards creating and enabling business environment and achieving the medium-term strategic objectives of the government of St. Lucia. Thank you also to all micro, small and medium-sized businesses of St. Lucia for your contribution to our local economy. I hope 2018 and beyond brings you continued success in your various business ventures. At I conclude this Christmas greetings, I call upon the good Lord to guide this nation and its people during this season and safeguard us from harm. To the Honourable Prime Minister, other ST members of Parliament, the business community and the people of St. Lucia, I wish you all a blessed, happy and safe Christmas and a productive and prosperous 2018. God's richest blessings to you all. St. Lucia