Antigua hosts Commonwealth partnership symposium

Antigua is hosting the first Commonwealth public-private partnership (PPP) regional symposium that will allow Caribbean delegates to share experiences on infrastructure development in the region.

The organisers said the three-day symposium, which began yesterday, will also allow delegates to discuss how to develop a regional initiative for PPP collaboration and resourcing for the Caribbean.

It is being held under the theme 'Building Networks Amongst Peers', and will involve presentations from the World Bank and Fathimath Niuma, an official from the President's Office of the Government of Maldives.

The Antigua and Barbuda government chief implementation officer, Ambassador Joan Underwood, said the PPP provides an opportunity for improving dialogue among regional professionals.

"Public, private, partnerships are an extremely useful tool for infrastructural development in the context of fiscal constraints confronting all Caribbean Community member states.

"PPP's can be utilised as a means for achieving desired levels of investment without placing undue burdens on the public purse", Underwood said, noting that the Malaysian presentation would be among those eagerly anticipated.

"Malaysia is known internationally for having successfully utilised PPP's and we look forward to learning from their experiences," she said.

- CMC