Min Zhu (centre), the International Monetary Fund’s deputy managing director, in discussion with
Former Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller and then Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips at the
start of the two-day 2014 High Level Caribbean Financial Forum at Montego Bay Convention
Centre in Rose Hall, St James. (FILE PHOTO: MICHAEL GORDON)

MORE than 300 officials are expected in the island for the sixth International Monetary Fund (IMF) High Level Caribbean Forum slated for Thursday, November 16 at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston.

Among these are current and former regional heads of government, finance ministers, central bank governors and privatesector representatives, as well as senior staff of the IMF and other international organisations.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde are the keynote speakers for the opening ceremony.

The conference is being held under the theme ‘Unleashing Growth and Strengthening Resilience in the Caribbean’, and will focus on issues impacting the region and the potential opportunities within the context of an ever-changing global landscape.

Four discussions have been scheduled featuring presentations by a wide cross section of local, regional and international stakeholders.

The first will focus on ‘The Caribbean Growth Challenge: Crime and Youth Unemployment’.

The others will cover ‘Fiscal Policy and Political Cycles’, ‘The Financial Sector: Stability and Growth Trade-offs’, and ‘Challenges and Opportunities in the Caribbean’.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/300_116838