Caribbean Investment Forum Launched, Cooper speaks

Rashaed Esson

Staff Writer

#TheBahamas, August 29, 2023 – The Bahamas launched the Caribbean Investment Forum which it will host from October 23rd to the 25th, and It is themed “A Bold New Caribbean.”

Various delegations from the region and around the world will be present, as expressed by the Honorable I Chester Cooper, M.P. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism Investments and Aviation.  He was giving his remarks at the launch on Monday August 21st.

The Forum’s objective is, according to Cooper, “to accelerate the closure of the Caribbean Investment gaps and ultimately transform the region’s economy by providing jobs and opportunities for its people.”

Additionally, Cooper expressed in his remarks that the forum will bring about the “exchange of ideas across the region” as they look for ways to “to improve” the collective lives and create “worlds of future possibilities for ourselves.”

He said occasions like the forum are crucial in creating, as the theme says, “A Bold New Caribbean,” which he says will be plotted out when they reconvene for the Forum in October.

The Deputy Prime Minister further pointed to what needs to be done to make this happen.

“A Bold New Caribbean” will  require  us  to  reexamine  the traditional ways of doing business and honestly assessing whether, within today’s current global competitive climate, this is sufficient to continue propelling us forward, not only  in survival mode, but as trendsetters  and  first  movers,” he stated. Further encouraging the participants are the launch to  dispose of “outdated ideas – some, not all – and work toward better”.

He continued to express that accepting “disruption” despite how uncomfortable, is essential to see the dream of a bold new Caribbean come to light, as “disruptive and commercially viable solutions” are needed.

Also, he pointed out that he is confident that the forum will help find the solution needed to address issues facing the Caribbean.

He said, “the  Caribbean  Investment  Forum’s ongoing prominence will be connected to its ability to find tangible, practical feasible solutions to the issues that confront us, and I am confident that this conference will do just that.”

Cooper then proceeded to refer to some of the issues such as food security, One of those areas is Food Security.

Maintaining that we challenge ourselves to reach CARICOM’s goal of a “25 percent reduction in imports by 2025 perhaps by aggressively deploying agri-tech.”

Another issue that he brought attention to was that of  Renewable Energy, highlighting that “The Bahamas has a mandate of having 30 percent renewables on grid by 2030,” and adding that the opportunity is there  to “harness the 365-day a year sunshine… address this imperative,” which he said should help start talks around  energy reliability and affordability.

As he pointed to and expounded on the issues, he didn’t forget one of the most urgent, that is Climate resilient infrastructure, amid the ongoing threat of storms.