(BIS Photos/Peter Ramsay)
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With
60 percent of the Bahamian population under the age of 30 and a propensity for
our youth
for the pursuit of excellence in sports, art, music and cultural endeavours, Prime
Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie stated at the 2015 Caribbean Investment
Summit that “we must find ways to invest more in the creative industries that
can feed into our main economic pillars and develop sustainable linkages across
sectors of our economy."
In his address of the summit in London,
September 10, the Prime Minister said the climate
is ripe for inward investment in the Caribbean.
He noted, a "substantial"
amount of foreign direct investment must continue to build on the traditional
sectors such as tourism, financial services, business service outsourcing,
fisheries and agro-processing -- where the Caribbean has a competitive
advantage. He observed that foreign
investors are now venturing into previously unexplored sectors of the economies
like natural resources, infrastructure, energy, manufacturing, real estate,
transport, telecommunications, stem cell research and medical tourism, which,
he said, as a single market develops will reap real rewards over the long term.
The
region, he affirmed, provides competitive advantages of
accessibility, economic and political stability, adequate labour supply, modern
infrastructure, robust investment incentive frameworks and trade facilitation,
with some preferential access to markets through its trade agreements with
Europe, the United States and Canada: "Consequently, there are many
opportunities for inward investment, and promotional efforts in this direction
are yielding good results."
The
Prime Minister declared he remained convinced that “the tourism sector and its
niche industries will continue to be the engine of economic growth, employment,
human capital development, industry diversification and business improvement
for most of the 40 million citizens of the Caribbean.”
(BIS Photos/Peter Ramsay)
Bahamas Prime Minister's Business Visit to London, England
