Miami, Florida — Two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders are expected to participate in a World Bank conference examining the socio-economic situation in the Caribbean on March 30.
The conference, titled “The Caribbean Dilemma,” is part of the Americas Conference Series being put on in collaboration with the Miami Herald. It is designed to diagnose the economic situation in the Caribbean, as well as discuss new strategies to revive growth.
Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell of Grenada and St. Lucia Prime Minister Allen Chastanet are among the Caribbean delegates who will participate in the conference. The chairman of the Economic Growth Council in Jamaica, Michael Lee-Chin, the governor of the Central Bank of Jamaica, Brian Wynter, and the governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, Timothy Antoine, also are scheduled to participate in the one-day event.
“Small economies around the world are undoubtedly diverse. Yet, their small economic size brings shared challenges and opportunities for long-term development,” the organizers said. “Latin America and the Caribbean currently includes fast-growing small economies such as Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Panama, alongside slow-growing economies such as Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and economies such as the OECS with growth rates somewhere in between.”
They said the discussions will take a long-term view on what are the key priorities and challenges shared by small economies, such as integration with the global economy, high debt and volatility.
“The discussion will also focus on strategies to help boost long-term growth recognizing that small economies can be more nimble and are able to reorient their economies over time,” they said.
Prior to the conference, members of the media will be briefed by Daniel Lederman, World Bank Deputy Chief Economist for Latin America and the Caribbean and author of the new report “Open and Nimble: Finding Stable Growth in Small Economies,” and Francisco Carneiro, World Bank Lead Economist for the Caribbean and author of the report “Taming Volatility: Fiscal Policy and Financial Development for growth in the Eastern Caribbean.”
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