Press Release No. 12/300

Press Release: IMF Hosts Forum to Address Low Growth and High Debt in the Caribbean

August 29, 2012

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean Development Bank will hold a high-level forum on “Rethinking Policy to Address Low Growth and High Debt in the Caribbean” on September 4-5, 2012 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The forum will discuss how lessons from the past and from other parts of the world could help the Caribbean economies in light of the distinctive challenges the region faces.

“This forum offers a unique opportunity to further our ongoing dialogue with the Caribbean and listen to the concerns and ideas of policymakers regarding the challenges the region faces and explore possible policy avenues to foster inclusive and sustainable growth,” Mr. Saúl Lizondo, Associate Director of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department, said ahead of the gathering today.

The forum will bring together Ministers, Central Bank Governors, and other high-ranking officials from the ECCU members–Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Anguilla and Montserrat—as well as from The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Press attendance

The event’s opening ceremony to be headed by The Honourable Winston Dookeran, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. William Warren Smith, President of the Caribbean Development Bank, and Mr. Min Zhu, IMF Deputy Managing Director will be open to members of the press. A concluding press conference will be held on Wednesday, September 5 at 12.30 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain. More information about the forum can be found on the event’s website.