ICT and Human Resource Development, the catalyst to sustainable economic growth and development for CARICOM

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana)     ICT and Human Resource Development fused together could be the catalyst to enhancing prospects for sustainable growth and development for CARICOM. That was the sentiment expressed by Prime Minister of Grenada Dr. the Rt. Hon. Keith Mitchell at the opening ceremony for the forty-eighth (48th) Special Meeting of the Council on Trade and Economic Integration (COTED) on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Grenada on Friday.
The meeting is a precursor to the Inter-sessional Meeting of Heads of Government to be held next month in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where both ICT and Human Resource Development will be major topics for focussed deliberations at the meeting.
According to Prime Minister Mitchell, if managed, exploited and maximised, ICT and Human Resource Management could bring the CARICOM Region to a place that affords opportunities to develop new services, industries and markets that create jobs, return profits and drive growth.
He said all CARICOM Member States were at a crossroad with respect to the development of their economies, and providing a climate for the prosperity of their citizens. According to him the way forward is to do things differently.
“The platform that we need to embrace is that of Information and communications technology. And the time to do so is now” Dr. Mitchell said.
The Grenadian Prime Minister noted that this COTED meeting was particularly important because its aim was to through the CARICOM Secretariat, develop a regional digital development strategy that will help inform Member States on some of the critical sectors in which ICT can be effectively applied.
“Today we will focus on, and give consideration to some strategic ICT elements that have been identified as critical to the development of our economies, and some critical processes and actions to be taken in operationalizing the regional digital development strategy” he said.

He also pointed to the presentation from the Caribbean Research and Education Network – C@ribNET earlier in the ceremony which “promises much with respect to the potential of transforming our region. I believe that our region should be very proud that today, through C@ribNET, we are connected to one another through broadband” he said.