Duguid hails first Saudi-Caribbean Forum

Senior Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Dr William Duguid said the first Saudi-Caribbean Investment Forum staged from July 6 to 8 in the Dominican Republic was an important for Barbados to prove its “pro-business approach” to prospective investors.

Duguid led the Barbados delegation that also included Deputy Permanent Secretary (Ag), Prime Minister’s Office, Paula Byer; Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Invest Barbados, Sandra Payne; and Foreign Service Officer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Disa Lewis.

Approximately 60 Saudi Arabian firms with interest in a wide cross section of sectors, including banking and finance, construction, energy, healthcare, food and beverages, hospitality, petrochemicals, pharmaceutical, mining and industry, wealth management, and maritime, attended the Forum.

Duguid said he was “pleased with the calibre of investors attending the Forum, as well as their interest in investing in the Caribbean generally and in Barbados in particular”.

He added that Barbados’ participation was a “clear signal to global investors of government’s pro-business approach to welcoming businesses of substance and attracting sustainable foreign direct investment from new markets”.

The forum, themed “Towards a New Era of Partnership for Socio Economic Development”, attracted approximately 230 delegates, with 14 Caribbean countries presenting their investment ready projects.

It was a collaboration among the Caribbean Association of Investment Promotion Agencies, the Ministry of Investment from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the investment promotion agency of the Dominican Republic, ProDominicana.

Deputy Minister for Investor Outreach of the Ministry of Investment, Badr Al Badr led the delegation from Saudi Arabia that also included Vice-President of Investment Attraction and Development for the Americas, Abdulrahman T. Bakir.

Also participating from Saudia Arabia were several government entities, including the General Authority for Foreign Trade, the Federation of the Saudi Chambers, the Public Investment Fund, the Saudi Development Fund, the Ministry of Energy, and the Ministry of Tourism.

(PR/AR)