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VIII Americas Competitiveness Forum to Take Place Next Week in Trinidad and Tobago with the Support of the OAS

More than a thousand experts from business, government and academics will take part, from October 8-10 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, in the VIII Americas Competitiveness Forum (ACF), which will be held with the support of the Organization of American States (OAS) and will focus on "The Human Imagination in Action: Driving Competitiveness, Powering Innovation.”

The OAS acts as Technical Secretariat of the Forum and the Inter-American Competitiveness Network (RIAC), an initiative created by member states to institutionalize a mechanism for regional dialogue, and to promote the exchange of experiences and the development of joint initiatives in areas related to competitiveness. The OAS also coordinated the preparation of the third edition of "2014 Signs of Competitiveness in the Americas Report," which will be presented during the event in Trinidad and Tobago.

The Secretary General of the OAS, José Miguel Insulza, said that the ACF is the "eminent economic and trade event of the Americas, which focuses on competitiveness and innovation." The head of the hemispheric Organization highlighted the value of "Signs Competitiveness Report," because it "shares successful experiences of competitiveness of the countries of the Americas, in addition to the intellectual contributions of critical thinkers, global experts and leaders of regional institutions."

The Forum will be opened on the evening of Wednesday October 8 by the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar; Secretary General Insulza; the Minister of Planning and Sustainable Development of Trinidad and Tobago, Bhoendradatt Tewarie, who represents his country as Chair Pro-tempore of the RIAC. Trinidad and Tobago is the first country in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to organize the event, which has been held since 2007. The Caribbean country also had a leading role in the preparation of the Report to the Chair Pro Tempore of the RIAC.

The aim of the ACF is to inspire policies, programs and partnerships to improve economic prosperity at the local, regional and international levels, in addition to providing opportunities to steer the region toward a more prosperous future for the towns and communities of the Hemisphere. The VIII ACF will feature the following panels: Energy Competitiveness and Innovation; Financing Business, Investment and Growth; Creativity, Innovation, Research and Application; Breakthrough Innovations and the New Generation; Services Industry as a Driver of Innovation; and Innovation in Education.

Among the keynote speakers will be the President of Haiti, Michel Martelly; the President of the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (STIC) of Canada, Howard Alper; the Secretary General of the Central American Economic Integration (SIECA), Carmen Gisela Vergara; the Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining of Uruguay, Roberto Kreimerman ; the President of Zone America, Orlando Dovat Mela; the President and founder of Social Innovation Park Singapore, Penny Low; the Executive Director of the Caribbean Export Development Agency, Pamela Coke; Vice President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for the private sector, Hans Schulz; President and founder of Global Inc., Suhas Gopinath; and the Executive Director of INSEAD , Bruno Lanvin.

Within the framework of the ACF, the OAS, through its Secretariat for Integral Development (SEDI) and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago will sign a cooperation agreement to implement the project "Assessing the Design and Development of Sustainable Packaging as an Alternative to the Styrofoam Food Packaging Using Domestically Sourced Primary Materials.” The OAS Executive Secretary for Integral Development, Sherry Tross, will be responsible for signing the document on behalf of the hemispheric institution.

The ACF will be closed on Friday afternoon by the Assistant Secretary General of the OAS, Albert Ramdin, Minister Tewarie, and a representative of the government of Guatemala, which will host the IX edition of the Forum and will assume its presidency in 2015.

In addition to the OAS, the ACF has the support of organizations like the IDB ; Development Bank of Latin America (CAF); Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) of the UN; SIECA; the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE); the Government of Canada; Global Federation of Competitiveness Councils (GFCC); Caribbean Export; and Compete Caribbean.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-411/14