WASHINGTON, CMC – The World Bank has warned that growth in the Caribbean “will be held back” by large fiscal adjustments necessary to bring fiscal deficits to sustainable levels and help reduce public debt burdens.
WASHINGTON, CMC - The Organization of American States (OAS) has launched an exhibition of previously unseen works by Caribbean artists, titled “Groundation – Sources of Caribbean Artistry”. Hosted by the OAS Assistant Secretary General Albert Ramdin and curated by Jamaican author, sociologist and cultural heritage specialist, Margaret Bernal, the exhibition includes a range of oils, water colours, mixed media and a tapestry five years in the making, detailing Caribbean culture from Ottawa-based Trinidad artist Lorna Ramlochansingh.
NEW YORK, CMC – Senior Caribbean tourism officials are hoping for a turnaround in fortunes as the region Wednesday continued efforts to lure visitors to its shores. “We are truly convinced that high tide floats all boats and together by marketing the region ... collectively is extremely important,” Chairperson of the Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Beverly Nicholson-Doty told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC). She spoke as delegates attended the Caribbean Investment Forum that forms part of the activities marking Caribbean Week here.
NEW YORK, CMC – A senior official of the Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Tuesday warned that the Caribbean “is barely keeping its head above water” amid predictions that the sector will record a slight increase in tourist arrivals in 2013. CTO Director of Research and Information Technology, Winfield Griffith, told a workshop that forms part of the Caribbean Week activities here, that the figures show the region did not outperform areas such as Asia and the Pacific last year.
NEW YORK—Investment in the Caribbean region is bringing together a unique coalition for Caribbean American Heritage Month, as the United States, China and the Caribbean unite for Invest Caribbean Now 2013. The sold out Forum tomorrow at the Radisson Martinique Hotel in New York City, comes on the heels of US President Joe Biden’s Caribbean trip on May 28 for the signing of the United States – CARICOM Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, (TIFA) and the first visit to T&T by the Chinese President Xi Jinping, from May 31 to June 2.
WASHINGTON, CMC – Calling tobacco use the deadliest global pandemic ever, a former President of Uruguay has urged decision makers in the Caribbean and Latin America to step up efforts to curb smoking. In making reference to World No Tobacco Day, Tabaré Vázquez, an oncologist by profession, said the war against smoking should not only be waged in doctors’ offices but also in people’s homes, workplaces, public spaces and especially in classrooms around the region.
NEW YORK, CMC - A major international credit rating agency says three bond restructurings in the Caribbean this year, totaling about US$9.7 billion, have still failed to ignite economic growth and may not help the region avoid more defaults.
Moody’s Investors Service said the bond swaps this year did not go far enough to fixing the Caribbean’s “unsustainable” mix of debt and deficits.
It said, among Caribbean island economies, only The Bahamas is expected to grow more than 1.5 per cent this year, compared with four per cent for Latin America.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Much media coverage was given to the signing on May 28 in Trinidad of a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) by US Vice-President Joseph Biden and current chairman of the 15-nation Caribbean Community, Haiti's President Michel Martelly. But the TIFA must not be mistaken for what it is not. Although its name sounds grand, it is more a declaration of ambitions and desires than a concrete agreement with predictable outcomes and deliveries.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - RECENTLY, United States President Barack Obama visited Mexico and Costa Rica. His last visit to the Caribbean was in April 2009 when he attended the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad. Hilary Clinton, while she was secretary of state, met the leaders of the Caribbean in Montego Bay. This past week, Chinese President XI Jingping met with eight CARICOM leaders in Port of Spain. The other CARICOM governments that do not practise the "One China" policy were not included. They continue the financially unrewarding fallacy that Taiwan is the rightful Government of China.