Dear Editor:
The future is now. Caribbean nations must recognise that “Opportunity” is the most perishable commodity and if opportunities for trade, investment and other development initiatives are not expeditiously exploited, others will seize these opportunities. Caribbean governments need to respond quickly to the needs of their private sectors so that private enterprise can take advantage of the many opportunities arising from the challenges in today’s global economy.
The foregoing sums up the consensus among participants in three events held in the United States over the past week- Invest Barbados; the 4th Annual Conference of the National Association of Haitian Professionals (NAHP); and the 39th Annual (Miami) Conference on the Caribbean put on by Caribbean-Central American Action (CCAA).
Participating in these meetings were government, private sector, civil society, media officials and academics from several countries from various parts of the world. The consensus among participants in the various discussions at these meetings is that governments need to be predictable in their policy formulation and execution, thereby generating trust among stakeholders at home and abroad; need to fight and eventually eschew corruption; and deal effectively with the issue of security/public safety.
A session at the Haiti conference entitled ‘Foreign and Diaspora Direct Investment in Haiti ‘ and the several sessions at the Miami Conference which was themed ‘Cuba, the Caribbean and Central America’ pointed to the importance of foreign investment in regional economies, concluding that “investors are not our enemies” neither should size be an impediment to expanding regional economies.
In the words of Jamaica’s Richard Bernal in his presentation at the Miami Conference, “Small developing economies including many in the Caribbean have firms that are internationally competitive if not global leaders in some sectors and in cases where they cannot manufacture the entire product or provide an entire menu of services, they can be part of the value chain”. In my view this is indeed the case in Guyana and we need to focus on joint ventures, especially among our small artisans and entrepreneurs.
Further, our private sector it seems need to pay greater attention to the Cuban market notwithstanding the difficulties with logistics and linguistics. The Cubans participating in the Miami Conference made it clear that notwithstanding the move toward normalisation of relations with the U.S., Cuba will continue to ensure that opportunities for trade and investment are available to CARICOM member countries.
Ruben Ramos Arrieta, Minister in the Economic and Trade Office at the Cuban Embassy in the US, in responding to my intervention said that Caribbean trade with Cuba is valued around 100 million dollars annually and that there is scope for greater advantage to be taken of opportunities for exports to Cuba, noting that in recent times Trinidad and Tobago and The Dominican Republic have been very aggressive with their exports to Cuba. He said Cuba had circulated a list of some 50 products which the Caribbean could export to his country. Guyana, he said, previously supplied lumber and some rice but he was unsure whether these products were still being exported.
Editor, I share this information on the discussions at these meetings because I am of the view that it is relevant to Guyana and it is important that the Guyana government and private sector get a sense of the nature of the discussions taking place which could impact our economy. There is a certain urgency at this time with which many small economies like ours are pursuing their economic development through linkages and leverage in a global context. The train is leaving the station and Guyana, in my view, notwithstanding the future prosperity that oil may bring, cannot afford not to be aboard!

Regards,
Wesley Kirton