Welcome Remarks by Dr. DeLisle Worrell Governor, Central Bank of Barbados VIII Workshop of the Latin American Financial Network (LFN)

Welcome Remarks
by
Dr. DeLisle Worrell
Governor, Central Bank of Barbados
VIII Workshop of the Latin American Financial Network (LFN)
Crane Hotel & Resort Conference Centre
September 13, 2012

Welcome, Minister, Andrew, Tito, all our invitees.

This meeting is an important beacon for the future of Barbados and the English-speaking Caribbean.  It is clear to us that our economic fortunes in the 21st century are increasingly bound up with Latin America.  A few of the more forward-thinking trading and service firms are already leading the way, with networks of branches, subsidiaries and associates in Latin America.  Barbados, like some other Caribbean countries, sees its International Financial Centre as a source of export diversification for the economy, and we are actively expanding our network of DTAs in Latin America, to widen the scope of markets serviced by our IFC.

This conference is an important step towards building the Caribbean relationship with Latin America in the field of economic scholarship. It complements the collaboration we have among central banks of the Caribbean and Latin America through CEMLA, el Centro de Estudios Monetarios Latinoamericanos (the Latin American Monetary Studies Centre).   We are delighted to have the opportunity to host this meeting, and to get to know members of the Latin American Finance network.  I trust that as we go forward, Caribbean economists will join the network, and that we will see a growing involvement of the Caribbean in your work, including collaborative research as well as network conferences.

Thanks especially to Andrew for inviting us to host, thanks to the organisers for putting these excellent arrangements in place, and thanks to you all for coming.
I am certain we will have a productive 2 days of discussion and debate.