The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) president yesterday said areas such as energy and citizen security were among the bank’s priorities in its 2014-2017 Bahamas country strategy.

Mr Moreno, who addressed the Caribbean Growth Forum yesterday, told Tribune Business: “We had a chance to talk about this with the Prime Minister. Some of the areas we have been working on are areas such as citizen security.

“We are also working on water and sanitation, energy - which is an extremely important thing, not only for the Bahamas but Caribbean-wide, and is an area we will be talking about more and more with the Government.

“There are also the areas of air transport, as well as tourism and trade.”

The IDB’s current 2010-2014 country strategy for the Bahamas is focused on infrastructure in sectors such as energy, water and transport.

Addressing the Caribbean Growth Forum, Mr Moreno noted that growth prospects in Caribbean economies remained subdued, charging that the region’s nations could not simply sit back and wait on external conditions to improve.

“No single step will allow the entire Caribbean to get back on the path of economic growth. The solution must be homegrown in each of the Caribbean countries,” said Mr Moreno.

He added that one of the ways for Caribbean countries to get back on the road to economic growth was to export more.

“The Caribbean has to export more. Competitive exports are the only path to growth, and to that end the Caribbean needs to diversify its trade partners as well as its exports,” said Mr Moreno, noting that the region should forge stronger trade relationships with their fast-growing Latin American neighbours.

Mr Moreno said the Caribbean also had to “get its fiscal house in order”.

He added that Caribbean countries needed to explore renewable energy solutions, stating: “The Caribbean has some of the highest energy costs in the world, in some cases up to five times more expensive than those in North America.”