EDITORIAL: Christie makes valid point

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - The Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Perry Christie, recently urged the international commercial banks with a presence in the region to be true partners in development with the government and people of the islands in which they operate.
Mr Christie was speaking at an important conference which took place recently in The Bahamas and brought together officials from multilateral institutions with governmental representatives, financial advisors, developers and investors to discuss strategies in pursuing private-public partnerships with a view to assisting development in these islands.
This kind of gathering is welcome at any time because these open developing economies are just that, developing economies; and money is required to assist in their development. It is very timely too, because in these recessionary times there has to be a sensitive understanding on the part of the international financial institutions, both private and public, if these open and delicate economies are not to suffer extreme debilitation with ripple consequences of a social nature.