Caribbean
Grenada Prime Minister Tilman Thomas and his Antigua and Barbuda counterpart Baldwin Spencer recently met in Grenada to discuss several issues including the role of labor in the current economic climate in the Caribbean.
The discussions were held when Spencer paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Thomas ahead of the 17th Triennial Congress of the Caribbean Congress of Labor.
“I believe it is time for a partnership approach to our development,” Thomas told Spencer during the meeting.
“We need all stakeholders to work together to help us out of this crisis,” he said.
The Antiguan leader agreed, suggesting that the challenges of today’s economic environment needed “all hands on deck.”
The two leaders also discussed a wide range of regional issues including efforts by the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) to deepen its relationship.
Bahamas
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) will help create a new Caribbean Competitiveness Center at the University of the West Indies (UWI) with a $750,000 grant.
The agreement was recently signed by the IDB Caribbean Department Manager Gerard Johnson and E Nigel Harris, vice chancellor of UWI, in the context of a Caribbean regional forum organized by the IDB in Nassau, The Bahamas.
“The Caribbean Competitiveness Center will provide intellectual leadership on issues related to private sector development and competitiveness,” said Johnson.
“The University of the West Indies is fully committed with strengthening research capabilities and
