THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) in collaboration with Jamaica’s finance ministry will hold a two-day conference on “Unlocking Growth in the Caribbean”, starting next Thursday in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

The event will examine key issues such as improving the reliability and efficiency of energy provision, a tax regime to encourage investment, and steps to strengthen the financial sector.

“The outlook for the Caribbean economies continues to be challenging,” said Alejandro Werner, director of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department. “This forum will be an opportunity to further our ongoing dialogue with the region’s policy makers on how to work toward stronger and inclusive growth in the Caribbean by addressing important issues such as energy provision, tax incentives and financial sector resilience.”

The event, a follow-up to last year’s high-level conference in The Bahamas, “Building Growth into the Caribbean Sustainability Agenda”, will bring together prime ministers, finance ministers, central bank governors, and other high-ranking officials from Caribbean countries — as well as senior officials from the IMF, the Caribbean Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank and private sector representatives.

The IMF delegation will be headed by Min Zhu, deputy managing director of the IMF, and Werner, who oversees IMF activities and operations in the Caribbean, and in North America and South America.