CARIBBEAN ROUNDUP
By Azad Ali
ANTIGUA
The Caribbean Community (Caricom)
and Cuba recently observed the
49th anniversary of diplomatic relations
with the regional grouping reiterating
its “unwavering commitment to the
further strengthening and enhancement
of the bonds
of friendship, cooperation
and solidarity
which unite us.”
Antigua and Barbuda
Prime Minister
Gaston Browne, who is also chairman
of Caricom said in a statement: “This
anniversary reminds us of that symbolic
and courageous historic act of Barbados,
Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad
and Tobago on December 8, 1972, that
has evolved over the years into a fruitful
and mutually beneficial relationship
based on solidarity.
“Caricom and Cuba have a lot of
which they can be proud. A growing
friendship spanning almost half a century
is a rare milestone in the history of
any relationship.”
The Caricom chairman said the relationship
has been bolstered by the formal
engagement ties developed over
the years, South-South cooperation,
and efforts to strengthen trading link,
even as he acknowledged it is “an area
in which more can be accomplished by
both sides.”
Browne said Caricom remains “confident
that our relationships with Cuba
will continue to flourish in the years
ahead, despite the challenges we both
face.”
BARBADOS
The International
Monetary Fund (IMF)
is making available to
Barbados US$24 million
after indicating
that the island continues
its strong implementation of
the comprehensive Barbados Economic
Recovery and Transformation (BERT)
plan aimed at restoring fiscal sustainability,
increasing reserves and unlocking
growth potential through structural
reforms.
The Washington-based financial
institution has just concluded Article
IV consultation with Barbados, as well
as its sixth review of Barbados’ economic
reform program supported by an
arrangement under the Extended Fund
Facility (EFF).
The IMF said that the prolonged global
coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,
along with the twin natural disaster
shocks of volcanic ash from neighboring
St Vincent in April and Category 1
Hurricane Elsa in July, poses a major
challenge for the tourism dependent
Caribbean Airlines Limited has been rated a “Four Star Major Airline” by its passengers. Wikimedia Commons
economy.
It said reform efforts include enhancing
Caribbean Life, Dec.4 31,2021-Jan. 6, 2022
measures towards increasing vulnerabilities
from climate change and
natural disasters.
IMF deputy managing director, Bo
Li, said given that the outlook remains
uncertain, the authorities in Barbados
need to maintain sound policies
and their strong reform momentum to
safeguard macroeconomic stability and
boost potential growth.
CARIBBEAN
Secretary General of the Caribbean
Community (Caricom) Dr. Carla Barnett
is looking at ways in which the
Caribbean Development
Bank (CDB) can
work with Caricom to
build economic opportunities
for Caricom
nationals.
In her visit to the Barbados-based
CDB since her appointment recently,
she said the visit to the bank’s headquarters
was a return to a familiar
ground.
She had served as country economist
at CDB from 1989 to 1990 and vicepresident
(Operations) between 2012
2024.
Barnett met with bank president Dr.
Gene Leon, vice-president Yvette Lemonias
Seale and their advisers.
During their meeting they discussed
further opportunities for collaboration
between the two entities and ways to
further their common goals of building
economic opportunity and prosperity
for the people of the region through
deeper regional cooperation.
The two regional institutions share a
long standing and productive partnership,
formalized in 2019 with the signing
of a memorandum of understanding
to deepen collaboration on projects and
programs which facilitate regional integration
and expansion of the Caricom
Single Market and Economy (CSME).
GUYANA
Three Mexican investors have
expressed an interest in massive infrastructure
projects in Guyana including
building an oil refinery, a new terminal
at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport
and potentially paving the Linden
to Lethem Road.
The investors, led by the CEO of
Grupo Industrial Omega Andres Holzer,
recently met with President Irfaan Ali
and a team of government ministers
and officials.
A statement from
the Office of the
President said that
the investment team
spoke about their ability to construct
affordable, modern concrete houses and
prefabricated hospitals.
It is expected they will engage in further
discussions with the leadership of
the Housing Ministry.
It was also noted that the investors
had a keen interest in Guyana’s oil and
gas industry and signaled this by stating
that interest in constructing an oil
refinery.
Earlier this year, Ali said his government
supported the establishment of an
oil refinery since it would “add value”
to the oil and gas sector. He, however,
emphasized that such an investment
would have to be private-sector led
instead of it being an investment from
the government.
TRINIDAD
Trinidad and Tobago state-owned airline,
Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL)
has been rated a “Four Star Major
Airline” by its passengers, in the Airline
Passenger Experience Association
(APEX) recently-released official ratings
for 2022.
APEX, a non-profit organization,
designed the airline ratings system
using customers’ votes worldwide, with
categories five-star global airlines; fivestar
major airlines; four-star regional
airlines; and four-star low cost carriers.
The ratings are recorded on neutral,
third-party passenger
feedback and insights
gathered through
Alex’s partnership
with Tripit from Concur,
a travel-organizing app.
For this year’s awards, nearly a million
flights were rated by passengers
across more than 600 airlines from
around the world using a five-star
scale.
The APEX ratings were independently
certified by a professional external
auditing company.
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