Washington, DC – The Institute of Caribbean Studies (ICS), based in Washington DC, will host the 17th Annual convening of Invest Caribbean Business Forum on November 19 – 20.
This Caribbean-American Business Leaders Dialogue on Trade and Investment will focus on “Optimizing Value Chains in Agriculture and Extractive Industries.” The two-day forum will begin with a Congressional Caribbean Caucus Roundtable hosted by Congresswoman Yvette Clarke on Capitol Hill. It will also include a Special Forum on The Future of Youth in Agriculture entitled, “Ignite Caribbean: Farm the Future”, at the Organization of American States.
The conference theme of Optimizing the Value Chain for Agriculture and Extractive industries, will provide participants information and knowledge about emerging trade and investment opportunities in the agribusiness sector throughout the Caribbean. The conference will also address opportunities to establish sustainable and profitable partnerships in the extractive industries sector.
ICS President and Founder, Dr. Claire Nelson points to the relevance of the focus on agribusiness as follows: “Agriculture remains a key sector with emerging potential to create jobs from micro to mega enterprises. Given a food import bill of over US$4B, investments in the agriculture sector can provide both food security and jobs and also earn foreign exchange. We need to transform the culture of agriculture in the Caribbean, recognizing that we will need to Farm the Future – from fish to flowers to fuel to flora”
The Business Roundtable brings together a select group of U.S. and Caribbean business persons, Caribbean diplomatic corps, policy makers, and financiers to exchange up-to-date information and discuss opportunities for delivering sustainable growth with job creation. This is both an educational event and an important venue for developing business prospects.
Another special interest is the addition of the Partnerships Roundtable. Among those expected to attend are Dr. Fred Brown, President of the College Agriculture and Science Education (CASE) based in Jamaica; as well as Dr. Jennifer Keane Dawes, Dean of Graduate Studies, University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Representatives from the Inter-American Development Bank; International Finance Corporation; Overseas Private Investment Corporation; US State Department, and the US Trade Development Agency are also scheduled to speak.
Invest Caribbean will be followed by the 22nd Annual Caribbean American Heritage (CARAH) Awards, which were instituted in 1994 by the Institute of Caribbean Studies in order to highlight the contributions that Caribbean immigrants make to the United States. The 2015 Honorees include: Jamaica-born Beverley East, noted graphologist, and Michael ‘Freestylee’ Thompson, Artists Without Borders; Dr. Barbara Hutchinson, President-elect, Association of Black Cardiologists, of Tobago Heritage; Anitguan Miguel Southwell, Manager, Atlanta International Airport; and Gordon Henderson, Dominican leader of the Exile One, Zouk Band. The CARAH Awards Gala will be held November 20, 2015 at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill.
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