With small island developing states facing growing demands for climate resilience, infrastructure upgrades and social development, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is hosting its Sustainability Week conference for the first time in the Caribbean, as regional leaders seek to match investment capital with development projects across Latin America and the Caribbean.
More than 300 businesses from across the Caribbean and Latin America are attending the conference at the Wyndham Grand Barbados Sam Lords Castle Hotel in St Philip. Sustainability Week runs through Thursday and includes discussions on renewable energy, disaster resilience, infrastructure financing and private-sector investment opportunities across the Caribbean and Latin America.
Minister of Finance Ryan Straughn said Barbados was an ideal host because small island developing states face unique challenges in accessing financing.
He said: “It is a response to the fact that as smaller in the states, we do have peculiar needs with respect to our financing arrangements and therefore the private sectors here from all over Latin America and the Caribbean across the world actually to be able to see how we can put together solutions to be able to respond not just to people in Barbados but across the region.”
Speaking to reporters at the opening on Tuesday, Straughn said Barbados has spent the last eight years advocating for greater access to concessional financing to support development and resilience-building efforts.
He explained that the conference forms part of a wider effort to mobilise both public and private capital to help countries achieve their development goals.
“One of the things that we have been focused on, certainly in post-COVID really is how do we adequately identify and target the achievement of the development goals and to the extent that we can access concessional financing or prearranged financing to be able to achieve that has become a part of how corporate social responsibility has evolved over the last ten years or so.”
The minister said financing must be linked to projects that deliver measurable outcomes in areas such as environmental sustainability, inclusion and support for vulnerable groups.
“As we continue to press for the reform of the international financial architecture, things related to environmental sustainability, things related to inclusion, things related to how do we ensure that there’s empowerment of marginalised groups across our societies. These are things that we are seeking to match finance with specific deliverables and projects to ensure that we can close some of those gaps, because at the end of the day, you are as strong as the most vulnerable amongst you.”
Straughn also used the conference to highlight the need for greater participation by Barbadians in regional investment opportunities, arguing that growth should not be confined to traditional financial institutions.
“We need more Bajans investing abroad… Bajans have money, so we are working with the credit unions as well as the banks to ensure that we can have biddings, invest in some of these opportunities abroad to help on our resilient side so that we’re earning income outside of Barbados.”
The government was seeking to create opportunities for ordinary Barbadians to invest both at home and across the region and benefit directly from the returns generated, the finance minister said.
Government officials in attendance of the IDB Sustainability Week opening. (Photo Credit: Lourianne Graham/Barbados TODAY)
“We want to do that at home, but equally we want to do that abroad to ensure that the growth is inclusive and that when the profits are announced, the dividends come right back to all of us as individuals as well as institutions rather than just staying in the in the, I suppose, the traditional coffers of the banks and the institutional investors.”
Straughn stressed that attracting private-sector investment also requires governments to create the right conditions for investors.
“The regulatory environment being clear in relation to allowing the private sector to be able to invest and that’s something that we’ve been working on, to the extent that it requires fiscal discipline, and a stable government, and a stable political economy is equally important for private sector investment to take place, but the opportunities are there.”
The finance minister pointed to several projects already supported through partnerships with the IDB, including coastal protection initiatives and investments in critical infrastructure.
“We’ve seen projects for example, the boardwalk, along the south coast as an example, as well as the West Coast in terms of how do you preserve not just the natural environment, but equally how do you enhance the protection of coastal properties, as well as investments within that space.”
He also highlighted ongoing investments in education, healthcare and water infrastructure, noting that access to potable water remains a critical development goal.
“We have been working with not just the IDB but the World Bank, CAAF, CDB over the course of the last few years to develop a comprehensive water master plan if you like to be able to replace the pipes that the British laid over 150 years ago, as well as the upgrade of the sewerage plant both in Bridgetown and South Coast to be able to reuse some of that water.”
The conference also contributes to Barbados’s efforts to expand its meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) market and support economic activity during slower tourism periods, Straughn said.
Approximately 700 people travelled to Barbados specifically for the conference, while another 1 000 participants joined virtually, according to Straughn.
Over 700 were in attendance at the Wyndham Grand Barbados Sam Lords Castle Hotel in St Philip. (Photo Credit: Lourianne Graham/Barbados TODAY)
“These events not just help us to focus on better delivery of projects and financing, but it also helps with respect to keeping the economy taking over in the way that we want it to.”
In a recorded speech at the opening of the conference, Minister of Public and Private Investments Indar Weir said hosting Sustainability Week was a significant moment for Barbados and the wider Caribbean:
Carina Cockburn – Country Representative IDB Barbados, Minister of Public and Private Investments Indar Weir. (Photo Credit: Lourianne Graham/Barbados TODAY)
“Barbados does not want to be on the sideline of the conversation. We actually want to be part and center of the conversation, and all of you do know the tremendous work and leadership that our Prime Minister has given to the whole subject of sustainability and indeed resilience.”
The gathering provided an opportunity for governments, investors, environmental groups and the private sector to identify new partnerships and investment opportunities, Weir said.
“We are glad to be able, first of all, to host all of you here, but they give us a chance to see right across government, the private sector, investors, and indeed the environmentalists what opportunities can come out of this week’s session.”
Weir said the Caribbean was selected to host this year’s conference because of its growing investment potential and leadership in sustainable development.
He noted that more than 350 companies are participating in Sustainability Week, with nearly half coming from Caribbean countries.
“The Caribbean has a clear opportunity to position itself as a hub for sustainable investment, innovation, resilience, and growth, and that is what this week is about.”
(LG)
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