BELMOPAN, Belize, Mar 1, CMC – Twelve Caribbean countries Tuesday endorsed a joint communique to move forward on a pro-growth agenda, as they re-affirmed their commitment to shape a new agenda for sustainable and inclusive growth in the Caribbean.
The countries – Anguilla, Belize, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Suriname and St. Vincent and the Grenadines – have also the welcomed the results accomplished in Phase I of the Caribbean Growth Forum (CGF) adding that they are committed to building on those results to enhance the competitiveness of their respective countries.
“We reaffirm our commitment to shape national and regional reforms and to help track the implementation of actions launched to spur sustainable growth, create jobs and ensure shared prosperity.
“We recognize that the Caribbean Growth Forum provides an important platform for regional reforms to be implemented, and where regional peer-to-peer learning and access to global good practices is essential to foster innovation,” the 12 countries said in a joint communique.
“This event is an important milestone for member countries of the Caribbean Growth Forum. Together with our partner institutions, the World Bank is fully committed to support the sustainable development agenda that many Caribbean nations are pursuing and to identify innovative solutions that will generate growth, competitiveness and job creation,” said the World Bank Country Director for the Caribbean, Sophie Sirtaine.
“This initiative provides a real platform for Caribbean nations to accelerate progress made on reform actions and foster greater focus on results, transparency and accountability,” she said.
The CGF, which ends on Wednesday, provides a platform for private sector and civil society to shape national reforms and help track the implementation of actions needed to spur sustainable growth and opportunities for the people of the Caribbean.
During the meeting, countries will discuss and agree on how to create result based roadmaps to accelerate reforms and help track the implementation of actions linked to these reforms in the areas of investment climate, skills and productivity, and logistics and connectivity.
The 12 regional countries say to address the common challenges faced by Caribbean countries, they will “commit to further engage in an inclusive and transparent dialogue with key public and private partners as well as the civil society.
“More regular engagement with all Caribbean stakeholders will help focus on results and deliver on agreed actions outlined in country roadmaps,” they said, adding “we firmly believe that coordination mechanisms within government need to be strengthened in each country to ensure consistent monitoring and engagement with stakeholders”
The Caribbean countries say they consider that accountability mechanisms present a unique way of defining reforms clearly, with realistic timelines and associated performance indicators and ‘as such we underline the need for more systematic planning and feedback mechanisms to inform policy making and help assess the impact of identified reforms.
“We also believe that to maximize sustainability, the Caribbean Growth Forum should be further anchored in local and regional institutions,” they said, welcoming the recommendations of the CGF “to review and refine existing reforms under the three thematic areas of Investment Climate; Skills and Productivity; and, Logistics and Connectivity.
“Each reform actions should have specific and measurable milestones, and the CGF will provide a framework and facilitate the review process. In this context, we recognize the need to also respond to emerging priorities.”
They said with immediate effect they commit their countries to “deliver regular progress reports from the agreed national and regional roadmaps in line with existing national reporting mechanisms and to make these reports publicly available.
“Finally, we welcome the coordination, facilitation and advisory support provided by the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Caribbean Development Bank in moving our pro-growth reform agendas forward.”
The initiative is facilitated by the World Bank Group (WBG) in partnership with the IDB, the CDB and and with support from the United Kingdom Agency for International Development (UKAid), Global Affairs Canada, the Italian Development Cooperation, the European Union, InfoDev, the Competitive Industries and Innovation Program, Caribbean Export, CARICOM Secretariat and the University of the West Indies.
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