The conference is the initiative of the British Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Tony Blair MP. On November 2, 2006 the The event entitled ‘Transforming the Caribbean economy - new avenues for investment’ will take place at Lancaster House in London. It will explore how within two decades the Caribbean economy is likely to change dramatically as preference ends and the region comes to be dominated by the services sector,  tourism and allied industries, manufacturing and a new and better integrated agricultural economy.

The conference will aim to encourage a revolution in thinking about the region’s future investment and the role and interrelationship between the public and private sectors.

The one-day invitation-only conference which is being organized by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with the support of the Caribbean Council is aimed at the international investment community.

Among those due to address the conference are the Rt Hon Tony Blair; the Rt Hon Owen Arthur, the Prime Minister of Barbados; the President of Guyana, the Hon Bharrat Jagdeo, plus leading members of the financial community in London and the Caribbean, including the Chairman of Sagicor, Mr Arthur Bethell. Other Caribbean government leaders including the Prime Minister of Belize, the Hon Said Musa will be present along with key figures from the Caribbean private Sector.

Speakers in the opening plenary are Peter Bunting, Chairman and CEO of Dehring Bunting and Golding and Sir Roger Douglas, who as a former Minister of Finance for New Zealand, played a key role in the economic transformation of New Zealand. Sir Roger will share his experience and look at how this might relate to the Caribbean.  In the same session Lord Roberston of Port Ellen, Chairman of Cable and Wireless International, will focus on the issue of managing change and the significance of the service sector in the economic development of the region. He will be followed by Dr Floella Benjamin, a Trinidadian who will provide a more personal view on the need for changed thinking.

Other confirmed speakers include: Arthur Bethell, Non-executive Chairman, Sagicor Financial Corporation, Barbados; Lyndon Guiseppi, Managing Director, RBTT Merchant Bank Ltd, Trinidad; Kevin Clarke, Managing Director, International Banking, The Bank of Nova Scotia, Canada; and Andrew Dell, Managing Director HSBC Bank.

The afternoon track sessions will be led by Senator Lynette Eastmond, Minister of Commerce, Consumer Affairs and Business Development, Barbados, Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, Secretary General, Caribbean Tourism Organization, Barbados and Charles Johnston, Chairman, Jamaica Producers Group Ltd, Jamaica.  The track session chairs will lead discussions involving, amongst many others: Dr Peter G. Bourne, Vice Chancellor Emeritus, St. George's University, Patrick Casserly, Board Member and CEO, E-Services Group International Ltd, Jamaica, Roddy J. Carr, Vice President, IMG Tourism, USA, Paula Whitehead, Managing Director (Europe) of Elite Island Resorts, United Kingdom, Peter Odle, Chairman of Mango Bay Resort & Beach Club, Barbados and President of the Caribbean Hotel Association, Berthia Parle MBE, General Manager, Bay Gardens Hotel, Saint Lucia,  Jose Alpuche, Chief Executive Officer, Belize Agro-productive Sector Group, Belize and Roger Haybittle, Director Sugar and Alcohol Division, Coimex, Brazil and Curtis Mohammed, General manager, Trinidad Bulk Traders / Angostura, Trinidad.

The conference which is being facilitated by the British Government is being delivered by the Caribbean Council working with the Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce, the Caribbean Hotel Association and other public and private sector organisations from the Caribbean Region.  Cable & Wireless International is the principal business partner for this conference.