Commerce, Planning and Infrastructure Minister Joseph Hew will travel to Nassau, Bahamas early this week to take part in the Third Caribbean Infrastructure Forum (CARIF) on 4-5 December 2018.

The role of infrastructure, energy development and finance in building regional resilience a year after the catastrophic 2017 Hurricane Season is the focus of this year’s meeting. On 5 December Mr Hew will join fellow planning ministers from around the Caribbean region in a roundtable discussion.

This session will examine how resiliency and climate change issues are shaping regional policymaking.  Topics to be addressed include: the next steps towards a long-term sustainable infrastructure plan, an island-by-island look at infrastructure and energy, the role of clean energy and how regional governments are developing public/private partnerships.

“In this context resilience means the ability to adapt to, withstand, or rapidly recover from a disaster or catastrophic event. CARIF offers an opportunity to inform local policies while sharing our own perspective and needs with many of the same people with whom we might expect to interact in the aftermath of a disaster“, Minister Hew explains.

“We have been lucky in the Cayman Islands to have seen little to no activity over the last several hurricane seasons”, the Minister adds. “Yet we have only to look at our regional neighbours to remember how Hurricanes Paloma and Ivan impacted our infrastructure. If we can act now in tandem with regional partners to pro-actively plan for and mitigate similar disasters in the future, then we should take every opportunity to do so.”

CARIF attracts representatives of regional governments and multi-lateral organisations, bankers, investors, project developers to its solutions-oriented discussions. These routinely explore the potential for sustainable and cost effective infrastructure planning that meets the needs of local populations and creates attractive opportunities for investors.

Other topics on the 2018 agenda include: trends in financing Caribbean infrastructure, developing climate resilient water infrastructure, positioning islands for growth and the creation of Caribbean smart cities.

President of the Cayman Renewable Energy Association and entrepreneur, James Whittaker, is among speakers on this year’s programme. Mr Whittaker will present on whether recent weather events have altered perspectives on how energy is generated.

Following CARIF Mr Hew will travel to London to join Premier Alden McLaughlin as part of the delegation taking part in the Joint Ministerial Council meetings and Constitutional talks.