Caribbean leaders call for more concessional financing

By Renay Sambach

Caribbean leaders on Friday called f o r m o r e concessional financing, highlighting that it should be b a s e d o n c o u n t r i e s vulnerability instead of per capita basis at a high-level conference hosted by the World Bank and the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) in St. Kitts and Nevis.

Guyana's Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh was among the regional leaders who made an appeal to international financial institutions during the c o n f e r e n c e t h e m e d “BuildingResiliencethrough Sustainable Development FinancingintheCaribbean”.

Their calls come on the heelsofthecurrentdebtlevel in the Latin America and Caribbean standing at a whoppingUS$5.8trillion.

The hybrid event convened key government officials, creditors, and partners to collaborate and coordinate on facilitating debt sustainability in the Caribbean—with a focus on the Commonwealth of Dominica; Grenada; Guyana; Haiti; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and others.

Theconversationbrought together key players to discussproactivemeasuresto ensure sustainable financing, and to reflect on lessons learnt from past crises in the Region.

Against this backdrop, a discussion was focused on theWorld Bank's Sustainable Development Finance