WASHINGTON– The managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, will participate in a panel discussion on capacity-building partnerships for a more resilient Caribbean later this week.
According to a statement posted on the website of the Washington-based financial institution, the event will take place on June 16 as part of Georgieva’s first-ever visit to Barbados
She will be joined on the panel by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley and the Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Timothy Antoine, who is also chairperson of the Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC) Steering Committee.
The discussion will be moderated by Ilan Goldfein, the Director of the IMF Western Hemisphere Department.
According to the Washington-based financial institution, since the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Caribbean policymakers have had to respond to the immediate and enormous challenges posed by the pandemic while continuing to implement structural transformations to make the region more prosperous, inclusive, and resilient to natural disasters, the climate crisis, and fiscal risks.
It said that over the past 20 years, the IMF, Caribbean countries, and global partners have teamed up through the Barbados-based CARTAC) to provide tailored and locally-delivered capacity development support to the region.
“This support has proved particularly helpful to ensure that Caribbean economic institutions are well equipped to address short- to long-term economic challenges, focusing on capacity building at central banks, tax and customs administrations, ministries of finances, and statistical offices,” the IMF added.
Meanwhile, Georgieva will participate in a one-on-one conversation with Dr. Simon Naitra, lecturer in Economics at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill (UWI) and President of Barbados Economics Society, on June 16.
The conversation will be followed by a discussion with students of UWI to be moderated by Dr. Naitra.
The IMF managing director will also participate in an IMF High-Level Panel Discussion on Building Resilience and Sustainability in the Caribbean on June 17.
She will be joined during the one-hour discussion by Prime Minister Mottley and Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister, Chrystia Freeland.
The discussion will be moderated by Jamaica’s Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. Nigel Clarke.
Prime Minister Mottley and Georgieva will host a joint news conference on Friday.
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