GEORGETOWN, Guyana - A huge burden is presently placed on the private sector in the Caribbean.   In the midst of steady economic decline of many Caribbean countries, governments have turned to the private sector to continue to earn foreign exchange, to keep down prices for goods and services, to maintain and expand employment, and to pay taxes.
It is in this reality that the Caribbean Export Development Agency held a Colloquium that gathered Ministers of the governments of the Bahamas, Barbados and Jamaica with representatives of large and small companies from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, St Lucia and Antigua.  They were joined by Academics and trade negotiators.
The outcome of two days of practical and realistic discussion reflected: widespread alarm about the Caribbean’s current woeful economic condition; the recognition that growing the economies of the region is absolutely urgent; deepening and widening markets for Caribbean goods and services must be a top priority; the private sector across the region has to raise its profile and its voice; and governments have to engage the private sector as a genuine partner in growing their economies to provide employment and improve the quality of life of people.