I am honored to welcome you today to this first Workshop on Competitiveness in the Caribbean in the framework of this morning’s Meeting of Competitiveness Authorities and Councils and the Americas Competitiveness Forum. I thank the Honorable Ceasar C. Mitchell, President of the Atlanta City Council, for the generous hospitality his magnificent and diverse city has extended to us.

Allow me also to thank the US Department of Commerce, the Inter-American Competitiveness Network and the Compete Caribbean Program for joining the OAS in the organization of this event at a very timely moment, when the economies of the Caribbean region are facing GDP growth rates of only 1% this year and are experiencing challenges stemming from the recent global economic crisis, where they expect to do more with less.

I would like to complement the IDB for the establishment of the Compete Caribbean program, which seeks to enhance the competitiveness of the Caribbean region, and increase the development impact of the private sector.



The Caribbean region followed the mainstream development paradigm primarily aimed at opening up markets and creating trading arrangements. However, this alone is not enough to realize sustainable economic growth and eradicate poverty, inequality and social injustice. We need a more holistic development framework that is based on productive diversification that takes into account the human potential, labor markets, the vulnerabilities of small countries, and the institutional capacity to sustain key conditions for growth and prosperity in our societies.

Over the last 40 years, the Caribbean has grown on average by only 2.2 per cent while Latin America grew by 3.4 per cent. Just as Latin America’s, Caribbean productivity has lagged behind other regions of the word.

A focus on Caribbean productivity and competitiveness is necessary in light of the recent severe global economic downturn. The situation in the Caribbean in terms of competitiveness is not a positive one. All Caribbean countries, except Barbados, are listed at the end of the global competitiveness rating of the World Economic Forum. Therefore, boosting competitiveness and growth over the medium term remains a key policy challenge. The key objective is: in which areas the Caribbean can create a leading edge.

Before this can happen, there is, I believe, a need for a mind-shift. We need to understand more than ever that the world does not specifically see individual member states of CARICOM as their trading partner, even though some of the countries do have specific products to offer. The world sees the 15 member states as one region, as the Caribbean. This mind-shift needs to be articulated in a targeted way in the common foreign and trade policy of the Caribbean Community.Therefore a sub-regional strategy to improve competiveness is required and I am pleased that the head of the Caribbean Competitiveness Center, Dr Bhoendradath Tewarie, is present here.

Competitiveness need to be placed high on the political agenda of the sub-region and political leaders need to have a frank discussion among themselves on a regional strategy, as well as with key stakeholders, such as the business community. We have to know that even in the traditionally reasonably well developed economic sector, such as tourism and the affiliated service industry, the Caribbean will face increasing challenges, on the one hand a decline in tourism traffic towards the sub-region and on the other hand the emergence of new destinations in the Western Hemisphere, which will challenge the primacy of Caribbean tourism based on sea, sun and sand and warm hospitality.

There is also need for a more proactive, modern and aggressive private sector, which need to depart from traditional business practices, less trade oriented (import/export), and more entrepreneurial by increasing productivity using internal and external resources. Without a strong, open and innovative private sector that is willing to invest in research and development, strategic advantages will not be optimally utilized and benefit the country. Just having natural resources and a well educated population is not enough.

And here, I would like to highlight that firms, not nations, compete. Only firms can produce differentiated products or services that can be exported to sophisticated consumers and sold for a premium. The role of the government is to improve the environment around firms, to facilitate and strengthen and modernize business related institutions and create a competitive and efficient regulatory framework.

Several developments and trends in Caribbean societies are obstacles to creating a more competitive environment. I will just mention some of these as I am sure these will be further explored in the discussions following.

1. Crime and violence;
2. Meaningful public policies to fight poverty, exclusion and inequality;
3. Existing unfavorable tax structures;
4. Corruption and inefficiency at ports;
5. Registering, starting up and running a business; in general the legislative framework;
6. Licensing;
7. Banking and monetary regimes;
8. Access to venture capital;
9. Quality, efficiency and cost of Government services;
10. Economic policies that facilitate and support small and medium sized enterprises, which are capable to incorporate informal economic activities and create more jobs;
11. Cost and availability of utilities;
12. Social and physical infrastructure to support productivity;

In closing, I would also like to highlight the importance of having Caribbean representation in the regional mechanisms for dialogue and cooperation on competitiveness such as the Inter-American Competitiveness Network (RIAC). The RIAC Network offers a platform for countries to cooperate and promote public policies for improving innovation, productivity and competitiveness with a focus on boosting private sector development

I would like to express the OAS commitment to support these high-level policy dialogues on competitiveness and, in particular, next year’s Americas Competitiveness Forum in the Dominican Republic. I believe that the Santo Domingo 2011 ACF will provide a great opportunity to showcase progress made in the Caribbean competitiveness agenda.

I look forward to a productive meeting and especially to the recommendations from this important symposium.

Thank you !