BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A National Economic Growth Forum, which is also aimed at identifying new areas of economic activity in St. Kitts and Nevis, has been planned for February 23rd at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort.
Mrs. Hilary Hazel, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sustainable Development said the overarching goal of the Economic Growth Forum is to contribute to sustainable and equitable growth and development of the Federation.
“The specific purpose of the Forum is to strengthen public/private sector dialogue, policy development and programme/project implementation to stimulate growth over the short to medium term,” Mrs. Hazel told the Communications Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister (CUOPM).
“The session would emphasise input from the private sector and provide a genuine opportunity for private enterprise/individuals to share their perspective on the current and future requirements for stimulating and sustaining growth in the Federation,” said Hazel.
The Ministry of Sustainable Development and the Ministry of Tourism and International Transport are charged with the responsibility to plan, coordinate and implement the consultation to discuss the various issues related to growth in St. Kitts and Nevis.
According to the Permanent Secretary, a central question to be answered is how can Government and the private sector work together to achieve the national goal of sustainable growth.
“Areas proposed for consideration include the cruise tourism sub-sector, stay over tourism sub-sector, education tourism, resort and villa, financial services and ship registry, agriculture, ICT Development, manufacturing, small business development, foreign direct investment/foreign aid and loans and the Citizenship by Investment Programme,” said Mrs. Hazel.
The Growth Forum will take the form of a one-day round table discussion with four main presentations representing any combination of the ten areas highlighted.
Specific presentations will be made on the Christophe Harbour development, competing in a changing global environment, emerging opportunities for stimulating growth in new and existing areas and prospects for expanding goods and service exports, exploring the potential opportunities resulting from new trade regimes including the EPA, Guyana-Brazil Partial Scope Agreement, CARICOM-Canada Trade and Development Agreement, Information Communication Technology (ICT) and innovation and sustainability as an essential element for future growth.
It is hoped that during the final hour of the forum, a facilitated discussion is proposed to consolidate the major discussion points from the previous sessions in order to identify the next steps and proposed actions.
