Sixth Conference of Heads of State of CARICOM Opens in St. Lucia

Contact: John Emmanuel

Tuesday, October 10, 2000 - As the Sixth Conference of Heads of State of CARICOM Countries opened here Monday, at the Hyatt Regency, St. Lucia’s Prime Minister the Honourable Dr. Kenny Anthony has called upon regional member states to prepare themselves to take advantage of the opportunities of globalisation, while warding off the negative effects.

Dr. Anthony told the Heads of State of CARICOM that the region as a whole, needed to reposition its varying economies to fully maximize the new and expanding markets provided via globalisation. Small island-states he noted needed to increase their efficiency and productivity in both public and private sectors.

"Our governments must initiate both proactive and remedial strategies. For example, while we seek to build capacity in established industries, we also need to invest in youth employment programmes. We must establish human resource development centres so that trained young persons will develop skills that match employers’ requirements in the work place. I believe that there is significant capacity within our economies to develop new products and services. I think of the financial services sector, the telecommunications sector and the increasingly diversified tourism sector. These are related industries are experiencing growth on a global scale. We need, therefore, to significantly increase value-added where we have competitive advantages and remove obstacles to future growth," said Dr. Anthony.

According to the Prime Minister, regional states will need to invest in newer, lower cost technologies if they are to remain competitive. Also needed would be fundamental changes to regional development strategies making them more people centred and driven. Education he says would also have to play a critical role.

"Our education infrastructure must function primarily as a delivery system for national confidence. It is that same national confidence we need to define and implement new development strategies. Education therefore cannot be a succession of regurgitate exercises, it must be regenerative. Communication, innovation, conceptualisation, information, these are the commodities of the future. They are the vehicles of knowledge-based industries," Dr. Anthony said.

He says in the end, the region needs a new emphasis on creative thinking and innovation, developing people who are problem solvers and solution designers.

[ Home ] [ Up ] [ Search for 2000 Press Releases ] [Site Help]

© 2001 Government Information Service. All rights reserved.

Read our privacy guidelines.