Barbados has an opportunity to change the dialogue surrounding international business and financial centres in the region when it plays host to the Global Forum Of The Organisation For Economic Cooperation And Development later this month.
This is according to a message from Minister of International Business Donville Inniss, delivered on his behalf by Deputy Permanent Secretary in his ministry, Sonia Foster, at the official opening reception for International Business Week 2015 last week at Royal Pavilion.
“Our hosting of these meetings is an opportunity to bring the region into positive focus with the rest of the world as it solidifies our position as legitimate, well regulated, international financial services centres of worth.
“Indeed with the constant battling of black lists, whether European or North American, we need to promote and maintain this image to protect not only individual livelihoods of independent nations, but the Caribbean region as an entity in itself. We therefore should speak with one voice against such onslaughts on our reputations, rather than trying to fight these battles on our own,” read Foster.
The minister’s message noted that the October 28 to 30 meeting was expected to bring together over 250 representatives from the 126-member Global Forum, which is “now the premier international body which ensures that the international standard for transparency and exchange of information is implemented by countries on request for information”.
In his address at the opening reception for the week staged by the Barbados International Business Association (BIBA) and its strategic partners including the Ministry of International Business, BIBA president Andrew Alleyne, revealed that the association was formalising a process by which it could be more involved in the drafting of new corporate laws and the amendments of existing ones to attract more international investment.
The international business leader said this deeper involvement by BIBA in the legislative process was a result of a meeting the association had with the Chief Parliamentary Counsel last month.
