The Caribbean Multi-National Business Conference: Press Releases

The 2010 Caribbean Multi-National Business Conference heads to St. Lucia
Nation’s Vibrant Business and Tourism Sectors Beckon Visitors
Tony Best - July 13, 2010
Carib News

St. Lucia , a highly competitive international business center and tourist paradise with a long history of political and economic stability will host this year’s Caribbean Multi-National Business Conference.

It will be the second time that the 31- year old nation of 170,000 people will be given the opportunity to welcome the large number of corporate executives, business owners and government officials from the United States and the Caribbean who attend the four day meeting.

Back in the 1990s, St. Lucia hosted the third Multi-National Business Conference.

Only three other Caribbean destinations -- Jamaica , the U.S. Virgin Islands and St. Maarten --- have hosted the annual meeting on two separate occasions. It is expected to attract at least 250 participants to its sessions, which begin in Castries on November 4 and end three days later, November 7th.

“This exciting and productive conference couldn’t have come to St. Lucia at a better time,” said Allen Chastanet, the country’s Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation. “With the U.S. and global economies emerging from the steep economic recession and the worldwide financial meltdown, St. Lucia is well placed to take advantage of investment and other business opportunities that are expected to coincide with a return to better economic times. We are keenly interested in joint ventures between U.S. and Caribbean firms and entrepreneurs in an array of sectors, ranging from tourism, manufacturing and telecommunications to financial services, agriculture, call center operations and export-import ventures.

“We invited the organizers of the highly successful conference to return to St. Lucia because of what it can do for us and its participating companies and institutions,” Chastanet added. “We have seen the positive results of the conference, having hosted it at least a decade ago. The investment and marketing opportunities were among the key reasons we sought to have our name placed on the list of potential sites and we are looking forward to welcoming the business and government leaders to our beautiful nation.”

St. Lucia, which has given the world two Nobel Laureates, Prof. Sir Arthur Lewis in economics, and Derek Walcott in literature, has gained an international reputation for transparency, business competitiveness and a minimum of red tape. It also holds one of the world’s leading annual jazz festivals.

“We opted to return to St. Lucia in 2010 because of the combination of the excellent facilities for visitors, the ease of transport to and from the country and the impressive results we recorded the first time we went there,” said Karl Rodney, publisher of the New York Carib News, who along with his wife and business partner, Faye Rodney are the driving forces behind the conference and its success. “The hospitality of the government and its people also helped to make the decision to return so much easier.”

This thriving democracy which remains committed to the rule of law was ranked highly for its level of human development. Its sophisticated banking system that’s noted for an ease of doing business makes it an excellent place for commercial activity, said Mr. Rodney.
 

Monday September 28th 2009
Global Economic Recession and Business Opportunities among Major issues to be Discussed at Annual Caribbean Multi-National Business Conference In Montego Bay, Jamaica, November 5-8

With the global economy still in the firm grip of a deep recession but with financial institutions projecting an end to the crisis by 2010, questions abound for Caribbean and U.S. businesses which are reeling from its fall-out.

How strong would any recover be?

Should Jamaica, the Bahamas, Antigua, the Bahamas, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, Barbados, St. Lucia, and their neighbors expect any turn around in their economic fortunes before the end of next year?
What about the upcoming 2009-2010 winter tourism season? How will the tourism-dependent destinations fare?

When the 14th Annual Caribbean Multi-National Business Conference is held in Montego Bay, Jamaica, November 5-8, hundreds of business executives and senior government officials from the United States and the Caribbean will search for answers to those key questions.

“Many on Wall Street in New York and economist at the leading international financial and development institutions are predicting a turn-around in the global economy, especially in the rich states such as the United States, Italy, France, Canada and the United Kingdom before the middle of next year. It is vital that the conference participants undertake a rigorous assessment of business and broad economic prospects in the U.S. and the Caribbean between now and the end of 2010 or even early 2011, ” said Karl Rodney, publisher of the New York Carib News. “It would certainly assist in the important planning process so that the countries would be ready for the post recession period.”

The Economist Intelligence Unit in London, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development with headquarters in Paris and the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Washington believe growth should resume in the economies of the developed world, especially that of the United States by the end of this year. But they are not certain how strong the expansion would be. Just as important, they expect a time-lag between what happens in industrialized states and in the Caribbean.

“The key question for the Caribbean is when the region can expect to reap benefits from any recovery,” said Rodney. “Some say it would be by the end of 2010 at the earliest. We want to pay considerable attention to these issues so we help businesses and governments reach some conclusions about the future.”

Charlie Skeete, a former senior economic adviser at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington has pinpointed 2010 as the time when the economic picture in the region should begin to improve but he warned that would depend on the strength of the North American recovery.

Caribbean businesses from tourism, construction, financial services and manufacturing to agriculture and import-export trade have been hard hit as a result of a sharp drop in consumer spending; a fall-off in remittances; and a significant slowing down in the flow of foreign direct investment.

That’s why Jamaican government officials and private sector executives are said to be eager to participate in the conference discussions as well as to explore opportunities for joint venture partnerships with U.S. and Caribbean firms.

“We know from experience the value of the conference’s deliberations and the potential for establishing profitable commercial relationships,” said Ed Bartlett, Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism. “We are eagerly looking forward to the sessions on tourism development, international trade, cross border investment and cultural industries. We in the Caribbean are feeling the full effects of the economic recession and this conference couldn’t have come at a better time.”

It is to be held at the Ritz Carlton Resort, Rose Hall.

Jamaica is among a handful of tourism destinations to record growth in arrivals in 2009. It will be the only Caribbean country to host the conference on three separate occasions in the last 14 years.
“Returning to Jamaica is like going back to one’s roots because the first conference was held in the country in 1995,” said Rodney.

Tuesday June 16th 2009
Caribbean Business Conference Returns to Its Roots, Jamaica, Country’s diversified and developed economy and natural beauty Will provide Exciting Opportunities to Participants, November 5-8
Tony Best


Jamaica, one of the most popular and culturally dynamic Caribbean tourist destinations and an island nation with a developed capital market and diversified economy, will host this year’s Caribbean Multi-National Business Conference.

The most populous English-speaking Caribbean nation with a long history of an ongoing strong business environment and political stability, Jamaica has been chosen as the venue of the 14th annual conference scheduled to be held at the Ritz Carlton Resort, Rose Hall in Montego Bay, November 5-8.

The country which is among a handful of destinations to record growth in tourist arrivals in 2009, a year of dramatic global economic declines, will be the only country in the region to host the highly successful meeting on three separate occasions. In a sense, going back to Jamaica is akin to returning to Business Conference’s roots because it was there that the idea of holding elaborate inter-active sessions dedicated to business development became a reality in 1996 when the first meeting was held.

“For us it is a badge of honor to be able to welcome to our country the hundreds of business executives, entrepreneurs, elected officials at the federal state and local government levels in the United States and our Caribbean neighbors,” Ed Bartlett, Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, said in New York where he attended the annual Caribbean Tourism Organization’s week of activities that focused national attention on the world’s most tourism dependent region.

“We can speak with first hand experience and authority of the positive results that accrue from hosting the conference, not once but twice in a decade and that’s why we are eagerly looking forward to the sessions on tourism development, international trade, cross border investment and cultural industries, among others,” Bartlett added. “The conference couldn’t have been organized at a better time. With the world economy facing some of its most challenging times, the presence in Jamaica of senior corporate executives, small and medium size business owners and lawmakers can make a substantial difference to the search for answers to complex economic and financial questions now bedeviling corporations and countries in North America, the Caribbean, Latin America. Europe, Asia and elsewhere.”

Jamaica, which like the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and St. Maarten, is a leader in Caribbean tourism, welcoming millions of long-stay visitors and cruise ship passengers to its shores every year is considered an ideal venue. Its mountainous interior, low coastal plains, white sandy beaches on the north and west coasts and ease of travel to and from the country combine to paint a picturesque and magnetic scene that’s irresistible to tourists and native-born alike. Its mixed open economy with private sectors that include manufacturing, agriculture, mining, telecommunications, manufacturing and tourism is confronting mounting hurdles as its global trading partners seek to kick-start their own economies.

“Apart from the country’s sights and the sounds, we decided to go back to Jamaica because of the opportunities for business growth and development,” said Karl Rodney, publisher of the New York Carib News, who along with his wife and business partner, Faye Rodney, are the engines that drive the successful series of conferences held in a different country every year.

“The outstanding results of previous meetings in Jamaica, the excellent facilities for visitors and the hospitality of government and people were the compelling factors behind our decision,” he added. “We couldn’t think of a better venue at this time for this year’s conference and the sessions on the global and U.S. economies, education, investment, telecommunications, technology, diversity outreach and community development.”

As Bartlett, the tourism minister explained it the transportation links between Jamaica and the United States are among the most extensive to be found anywhere in the Caribbean provide ease of access from almost every major city in the U.S.