Local chamber invited to talking shop on development

(CNS): The Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce has been invited by Caribbean Central American Action (CCAA) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to be a part of a panel discussion for the IDB International Forum on Caribbean Investment and Development (IFCID) in Washington DC next month. This is the first time the body which represents the interests of the private sector has been asked. Chamber President James O’Neill and Chamber CEO Wil Pineau will be discussing “Public Private Cooperation on Business Risk” focusing on the effects of disaster management and crime, on doing business in the region.

“The Chamber is very pleased to have been invited to contribute to this important regional conference,” Chamber President James O’Neill. “It’s an excellent opportunity for us to impart information and experiences as well as learn from our neighbours who share similar concerns and issues. I look forward to representing our members in a meaningful way as we work to maintain a high standard of quality in our community and economic development.”

The panel will answer questions from the audience made up of business leaders, financial institutions, and policy makers from the Caribbean, North America and beyond “in order that they may give their insight to what best practices should be implemented at a local level for effective results,” the chamber stated in a release.

The conference itself will look at business and economic development in the Caribbean, providing participants with a mix of business networking and policy dialogue.  The format is designed to encourage both information-sharing and audience participation to offer value to people already doing business in the Caribbean, those who are looking for opportunities, and those who are involved in economic policy making in the region, the chamber said.

Speakers invited to the forum include Canadian government members Peter Van Loan, minister of international trade, Michael Lee Chin from Portland Private Equity, Thomas Adams, the US special coordinator for Haiti, Cornelius B. Prior, Jr., the chairman of the, Caribbean Central American Action and Luis Alberto Moreno, Inter-American Development Bank’s president.