Roundtable with Business delegation from Antigua and Barbuda
Members of the Caribbean Council met with the Antigua High Commissioner Karen Mae Hill and a high level private sector and government delegation from Antigua and Barbuda. Discussion focussed on the logistics strengths of Antigua and Barbuda thanks to the expansion of the port at St Johns and the airport infrastructure. The port is now […]
Mott MacDonald
Our purpose is to improve society by considering social outcomes in everything we do, relentlessly focusing on excellence and digital innovation, transforming our clients ’businesses, our communities and employee opportunities. We: · solve social, environmental and economic challenges · help governments and businesses plan, deliver and sustain their strategic goals · respond to humanitarian and […]
Lavrov says Russia to agree debt restructuring, wheat and oil supply
24th April 2023 Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, has said that the terms of the restructuring of Cuba’s debt to the Russian Federation are practically agreed. He was speaking at the end of a three-day visit to Havana during which he discussed the supply of oil, wheat, and other issues with government. “Many goals were […]
Kanoo
CaribPay (Bahamas) Ltd., trading as Kanoo, is licensed by the Central Bank of The Bahamas as a “Non-Bank Electronic Retail Payment Institution.” Kanoo is one of the leading digital wallets in The Bahamas. Kanoo is a derivative of Junkanoo, the country’s most prominent cultural expression. Kanoo’s approach to the market is bold, colorful, and energetic, centered around freedom and […]
BHM
About BHM BHM in the Bahamas was founded in 1984 by a group of Bahamian businessmen, some of whom remain on the Board of the Company to this day. As well as the Company operating very successfully and diversifying over the years, our Board has also expanded their own success outside the construction industry in […]
Bahamas Financial Services Board
About BFSB The Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB), launched in April 1998, represents an innovative commitment by the financial services industry and the Government of The Bahamas to promote a greater awareness of The Bahamas’ strengths as an international financial centre. The Board is a multidisciplinary body that embraces active contribution from individuals within government, […]
Charles Russell Speechlys
About Charles Russell Speechlys Charles Russell Speechlys is an international law firm with a focus on private capital, at the intersection of personal, family and business. We have a broad range of skills and collective legal expertise and experience with an international outlook across the full spectrum of business and personal needs. We are here to guide you […]
Parris Whittaker
About Parris Whittaker We are experienced advisors & litigators. We’ve designed our practice to accommodate both non-Bahamas businesses that need sharp local expertise and local/regional businesses that want a trusted hand and 24/7 attention. That’s why our array of services is broad. As litigation and employment experts, we’ve built legal specialties around our strengths and […]
CTO upbeat about 2023 Caribbean tourism outlook
17th March 2023 The Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) is voicing optimism on the region’s tourism prospects for the remainder of 2023. Speaking in Barbados during the organisation’s launch of the 2022 “Tourism Performance and Outlook Report,” Acting Secretary General of the CTO, Neil Walters declared that the Caribbean had one of the quickest recovery rates […]
Deficit budget aims to start gradual process of economic recovery
30th January 2023 Cuba’s Minister of Finance and Prices, Meisi Bolaños, has said that the most significant challenge facing Cuba this year will be delivering economic growth while continuing to deliver the country’s social provision and system of subsidies. Speaking with other ministers about the 2023 budget on the flagship television and radio programme, Mesa […]
The Commonwealth and the monarchy
16th September 2022 The late Queen Elizabeth was widely revered for her sense of duty, her wisdom, advice, and the continuity she provided. As Head of the Commonwealth and as Britain’s monarch she represented selflessness and dedication rather than self-interest. She believed in the higher authority to whom she is now accountable. This and her […]
Meet the Ambassador – HE Mr Milton Innis High Commissioner of Barbados
31st March 2022 On Thursday 31st March we were delighted to invite our members to our third “Meet the Ambassador” Series with HE Mr Milton Innis, High Commissioner of Barbados The event was being kindly hosted by Mott MacDonald at their offices in london During the meeting the HC made a short presentation about Barbados to update us on the current […]
Drowning in promises
Photo by USGS It is hard to avoid the conclusion that the support promised by global leaders in relation to climate change will be delivered at a pace fast enough to help the Caribbean, if at all. David Jessop suggests that the region may need to consider other options. In a powerful speech at last month’s COP26 climate […]
Tourism minister prioritises health and safety as Cuba reopens
Photo by Yifan Wu 29th November 2021 Cuba’s Minister of Tourism, Juan Carlos García, has said that the country is committed to developing responsible tourism, in which the health and safety of all visitors and Cubans is prioritised. Speaking to locally based tour operators about the reopening of the country’s airports, ports, and hotels for tourism, […]
Lafarge Holcim announces US$20m investment in El Salvador
Photo by ElSalvador.com Industrial materials producer Lafarge Holcim, has announced that it will invest US$20m to increase the production capacity of its El Salvador facilities. US$11.6m will be invested to boost production at its Maya Plant located in Metapán, after the factory had significantly scaled back production after the 2008 global financial crisis. The remaining […]
Will the new WTO Director General be able to revive multilateralism?
Photo by Umaizi The World Trade Organisation is in desperate need of resuscitation. David Jessop writes that much will now depend on its newly appointed Director General rebuilding consensus and driving forward reform and a new agenda. A few days ago, the Nigerian-American economist, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was appointed to lead the 164 nation Geneva-based […]
Venezuela ups claim to Essequibo
[Photo: Dan Lundberg / CC BY-SA 2.0] 22 January 2021, Volume 43 Issue 2 Guyana has increased the number of troops present on its border with Venezuela and signed a maritime security cooperation agreement with the US. Both moves follow a declaration in Caracas by President Nicolás Maduro, again laying claim to the Essequibo region, […]
Reform of Cuba’s dual currency system, salaries, and prices to start on 1 January
Photographer: Yamil Lage/AFP/ Getty Images The Cuban government has announced that the unification of its present dual currency system will begin on 1 January 2021. The exchange rate will be CUP24 to US$1 and as previously announced, the convertible peso, the CUC, will be abolished. Speaking on Cuban television and radio, Cuba’s President, Miguel Díaz-Canel, […]
Digital Services Panel – Note
Digital Services – Harnessing digital to enable regional financial and service sector scale up During the Caribbean Council Virtual Conference 2020, we were proud to welcome expert panellists in Aviation and Tourism, Digitisation, Shipping and Food & Agriculture, to propose practical and actionable solutions to the region’s challenges post-COVID-19. We are grateful to Shiva Bissessar, Managing Director, Pinaka Consulting […]
German-Honduran partnership wins Salvadoran cargo terminal contract
A German-Honduran consortium has been selected to modernise, expand and operate the cargo terminal at Óscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport in El Salvador, in a public-private partnership arrangement with the Salvadoran Government. The partnership of Emco and and Munich International Airport, which already operates Honduras’ Palmerola International Airport, will invest US$57m in the project after […]
COVID Restrictions are Driving Demand for E-Commerce Solutions in Central America
COVID-19 is transforming business in Central America, as digital solutions offer crucial ways around physical restrictions during the pandemic. The trend has been most obvious with online shopping and home delivery services. International players like Uber Eats, Rappi and Glovo entered the local food delivery market in the mid to late 2010s, and have seen […]
Barbados planning to become tourism hub for the Southern Caribbean
The Barbados Government has said that it is developing plans that it hopes will see it become the southern tourism hub in the Caribbean. Speaking to the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA), Senator Lisa Cummins, the Minister of Tourism and International Transport, said that as a part of its plan it was negotiating with […]
A cold wind is blowing from the north
David Jessop asks who will lean into the wind, speak out and define in Caribbean and small state terms what free, socially oriented democratic societies require of both the US and China? Whether it chooses to take sides or not, the Caribbean is about to find itself swept up into the now almost inevitable superpower confrontation […]
Tax holidays can help aviation and tourism recover
If the Caribbean is to recover from the economic crisis it is facing, governments will need to stimulate tourism in unprecedented ways. David Jessop believes that one answer may be to remove, for a while, taxes and charges on aviation and tourism. After years of failing to find a way to reconcile whether LIAT, the Antigua based […]
Cuba to begin phased recovery from impact of COVID-19
Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel has said that Cuba is now able to undertake a staged recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. His announcement on 11 June follows the declaration that almost all Cuban provinces and municipalities, with the exception of a district of Havana (Cuba Briefing 8 June 2020), have been without incident for almost a month and […]
A unique opportunity to reset the relationship with the cruise lines
As the region begins to recover from the effects of the virus this should be the time when governments look to the future, jointly explore how the cruise lines can be encouraged to put much more back, and play a genuinely sustainable developmental role, David Jessop suggests. Even at the best of times, the cruise lines are […]
CARICOM Heads agree to steps required to reopen the regional economy
CARICOM Heads of Government have said that they intend to gradually reopen the Caribbean economy on a co-ordinated basis, primarily using public health considerations as the criteria. A communiqué issued following an emergency online summit held on 5 May noted that CARICOM Heads had taken note of a presentation by a Regional Working Group which […]
Tourism Minister optimistic about restoring growth
Cuba’s new Minister of Tourism, Juan Carlos García, has expressed confidence that Cuba will be able to reverse the falloff in visitor arrival numbers in 2019 and, in future, see year on year increases as new hotels and tourism facilities come on stream. Speaking on the television programme Mesa Redonda, García said that tourism continues […]
US sanctions block key Trinidad-Venezuela oil field project
Trinidad’s Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley, has said that the country is to withdraw from jointly developing with Venezuela the Loran-Manatee natural gas field which straddles the two country’s maritime borders. Addressing the Trinidad and Tobago Energy Conference 2020 on 3 February, Rowley said that US sanctions on Venezuela’s state-owned oil and gas company PDVSA […]
Is a single Caribbean foreign policy any longer possible?
Will Caribbean heads choose ideology, realpolitik or fudge when it comes to US pressure in relation to the OAS and China, David Jessop asks in this week’s View from Europe. A little over a week ago the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, met in Kingston with Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Andrew Holness. Subsequently, he held […]
