The Caribbean urgently needs major private sector investment to create jobs and economic opportunities for young people, says Executive Director of the Caribbean Export Development Agency Deodat Maharaj.It is with this in mind that the region’s leading promotion and investment agency will be hosting a major Caribbean Investment Forum (CIF) early next month.Maharaj told Barbados TODAY that it simply “cannot be business as usual” in the Caribbean if young people are to have more opportunities and significant progress is to be made in the areas of climate change mitigation and technological advancements.“To do that, business has to play a central and important role. Business is an essential partner to help us advance a truly transformational agenda for our region, giving much-needed jobs and opportunities for our people,” he said.“We can’t wait. Rome is burning in the context of the urgency of our economies for injections of capital to create jobs. Throughout the Caribbean, who is the largest employer? We know it is the state and that shouldn’t be the case and that is why we need investment, but investment in sectors that could drive transformation,” he added.
