Dr. Osmond Martinez Sworn in as New Minister of State for Foreign Trade

Ministry of Foreign Trade has a new Minister of State in the name of Dr. Osmond Martinez.  Government doubled down on Martinez’ swearing in as an Area Representative and had him sworn in this afternoon as a minister.  Many had anticipated that Dr. Martinez would have been reinstalled in the Ministry of Economic Development considering the works he has done in that area.  It is a portfolio that he is prepared to embrace as he indicated to the media this afternoon outside the Belize House in Belmopan.

Osmond Martinez, Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Trade: “We had our meeting and on that meeting it was shown that there is a lot of connectivity within Ministry of Economic Development and in order for us to accomplish the pending items on Plan Belize there are a lot of things that need to be done from the Ministry of Foreign Trade. I welcome the challenge. Based on the experience that I have gained at the Ministry of Economic Development I think that I’m well equipped but at the same time it’s not only about me it’s about a team and I do believe that presently the Ministry of Foreign Trade the leadership of the Honorable Francis Fonseca who has been doing a fantastic job plus he has a team. And so it’s just about guiding the team and continue to do the work that they had been doing.”

Dr. Martinez says that once you recognize the link between foreign trade and economic development, it would be understood why there is a need for reinforcements in this area.  He added that there is a lot to be done in the areas of regional integration and other gaps that need to be addressed that could improve the economy.

Osmond Martinez, Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Trade: “We continue to have the discussions of regional integration for example with Mexico and Central America in terms of trade and commerce and so there is a lot that needs to be done but for me at this present moment it’s too early to give the details because I will need to, or I will be having a meeting with Minister Francis Fonseca and then based on that he will be able to brief me or to let me know what would be the next steps and the vision that we should follow and to brief me of where the Ministry of Trade is at the present moment.”

The oath was administered by the Governor General, Her Excellency Dame Froyla Tzalam.  Dr Martinez ascension into electoral politics happened within a 9-week period.  In mid-May he had officially announced his interest in entering the political arena, but was only looking to vie for the standard bearer position in order to run in the 2025 elections.  Espat’s death on April 22, however, changed the dynamics, and by May 31, Dr Martinez’ officially resigned as the CEO for Economic Development and embarked on his campaign.  On June 9, he won the PUP standard bearer convention and by July 2 he was nominated to the Elections and Boundaries Department as the candidate for the July 17 bi-elections which he won with 70 percent of the votes cast.