BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - BETTER integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as well as development of Human Resources in the Caribbean could be a turning point for the region when it comes to Sustainable Growth and Development.
This pronouncement was made on Friday (Jan. 17) at the Opening Ceremony of the 48th Special Meeting of the Council of Trade and Economic Integration (COTED) in Grenada.
According to the CARICOM Secretariat, Grenada’s Prime Minister Dr. the Rt. Hon. Keith Mitchell said that ICT and Human Resource Development fused together could be the catalyst to enhancing prospects for sustainable growth and development for CARICOM.
He explained that if managed exploited and maximised ICT and Human Resource Management it could bring the CARICOM region to the place that affords opportunities to develop new services, industries and markets that create jobs, return profits and drive growth.
“The platform that we need to embrace is that of Information and Communication Technology. And the time to do so is now,” Dr. Mitchell said.
The Grenadian Prime Minister noted that participants at the meeting would have been focusing on some ITC elements that were critical to the development of CARICOM member states’ economies.
“Today we will focus on, and give consideration to some strategic ICT elements that have been identified as critical to the development of our economies, and some critical processes and actions to be taken in operationalising the regional digital development strategy.”
He stressed that CARICOM member states were at a crossroad with respect to the development of their economies and providing a climate for the prosperity of their citizens.
According to Dr. Mitchell, the way forward is to do things differently.
The Opening Ceremony of the COTED Meeting was preceded by a two-day Ministerial Meeting to discuss the way forward for ICT in the region
According to CARICOM’s website, this meeting is being used as a precursor to the Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM to be held next month in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, where both topics, ICT and Human Resource Development, would be major for areas for discussion.
