EU Eyes More Business, Investment Opportunities Within Caribbean Region

• To strengthen its partnership with the Caribbean region, the European Union (EU) will be among the key investment stakeholders to participate in the upcoming Caribbean Investment Forum (CIF) that will be held in Georgetown, Guyana.
• Speaking at the formal launch of the forum last week, Joan Nadal Sastre, Head of Cooperation, Delegation of the European Union to Guyana, said the EU intends to be a “key business partner” with the region to achieve mutual sustainable goals.
• “The European Union wants to do more business with the Caribbean; we want more EU companies to see the Caribbean as an investment opportunity. We want to be a key business partner we have a lot to put on the table,” Sastre said. He noted that while the EU and the Caribbean have long shared a relationship, opportunities for further advancement are abundant.
• The CIF forum, which is slated for July 10 -12 at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, will focus on a green economy transition, which will generate 400,000 additional high-paying jobs in the Caribbean, harnessing technology for agriculture in countries such as Guyana, Belize, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica, to further achieve food security targets. Further, digitalisation and technology will be among the topics to harness innovation to create well-paid jobs in the services sector.
• JoEllen Laryea, Manager of Partnerships, Advocacy and Reporting at the Caribbean Export Development Agency, said that CIF will be a key platform for attracting the right investors to the region.
• She further stressed the need for investment in sectors such as sustainable agriculture, technology innovation, and green economy transition, with a focus on fostering sustainable development and economic transformation in the Caribbean.

(Source: Guyana Chronicle)