Meet The Ambassadors: The Caribbean

Panel:

HE Ms Harriet Cross, British High Commissioner to Trinidad and Tobago

HE Ms Jane Miller OBE, British High Commissioner to Guyana

HE Ms Judith Slater, British High Commissioner to Jamaica

...

More speakers to be announced soon!

The Caribbean is defined as a collective of island nations, with significant economic potential and growth opportunities, and despite being a host of small island economies, some of these nations have found themselves major players in the global industry. The Caribbean countries face a number of difficulties today as they find themselves particularly vulnerable to climate change, and greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, the region experienced a higher than expected growth during 2021.

The halt in tourism due to COVID-19, has opened a vacuum for diversification.  To keep up a growth trajectory, the region is calling for investment in order to foster growth, employment creation, and climate resilience. Here there is potential for UK businesses in a number of sectors such as infrastructure, transport, natural resources, agriculture, manufacturing, energy transition, and renewables - just to name a few.  Climate resilience, mitigation, and adaptation are at the forefront of the agenda for many of these states as warming temperatures increase the vulnerability of this region exponentially. Extreme weather events are not uncommon, from 2019 – to 2021 the region saw nine-category 2 hurricanes amidst a record-breaking number of named storms in the same period.  

Many Caribbean nations are committed to building cleaner and greener economies but lack the necessary expertise and financing. Here there is ample opportunity for UK companies – whether that be through project building, investment, or consultancy – to grow and showcase their thought leadership and business in collaboration with these small island nations.

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