Press Release No. 14/472

Press Release: IMF and Jamaica to Hold High-Level Conference on Growth in the Caribbean

October 14, 2014

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in collaboration with Jamaica’s Ministry of Finance and Planning will hold a high-level conference on “Unlocking Growth in the Caribbean” on October 23-24, 2014 in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The event will focus on how to unlock growth in the region and will examine key issues such as improving the reliability and efficiency of energy provision, a tax regime to encourage investment, and steps to strengthen the financial sector.

“The outlook for the Caribbean economies continues to be challenging. This forum will be an opportunity to further our ongoing dialogue with the region’s policy makers on how to work toward stronger and inclusive growth in the Caribbean by addressing important issues such as energy provision, tax incentives and financial sector resilience,” Mr. Alejandro Werner, Director of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department, said.

The event, a follow-up to last year’s high-level conference in The Bahamas, “Building Growth into the Caribbean Sustainability Agenda,” will bring together Prime Ministers, finance ministers, central bank governors, and other high-ranking officials from Caribbean countries--as well as senior officials from the IMF, the Caribbean Development Bank, the Inter American Development Bank and the World Bank and private sector representatives.

The Most Honorable Portia Simpson Miller, Prime Minister of Jamaica, will open the conference on October 23. The IMF delegation will be headed by Mr. Min Zhu, Deputy Managing Director of the Fund, and Mr. Werner, who oversees IMF activities and operations in the Caribbean, and in North America and South America.