Planning Minister: Collaboration important for national development

MINISTER OF Planning Penelope Beckles says collaboration between the public sector and the private sector is key to the development of the nation.

She made the statement at the second day of the three-day Ignite Start-up summit, held at the Trinidad Hilton on Thursday.

The summit is a Latin America and Caribbean community convention aimed at collaborating to foster regional innovation which opened on Wednesday.

“The collaboration showcased here, involving Caribbean Dragons, the Ministry of Planning and Development, CARIRI, IDB, Price WaterhouseCooper, the banking sector and other pivotal stakeholders, demonstrates our dedication to inclusivity and sustainable growth,” Beckles said.

She said the ministry had articulated the national development strategy for TT, which aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. One of the goals of the national strategy champions partnerships as a vehicle for development.

“The activities we are partaking in today at this summit exemplifies how these policies are being brought to life,” she said. “It highlights the critical role of synergistic relationships between governments, the private sector and civil society.”

“By weaving these partnerships into the fabric of today’s summit, we are not merely discussing abstract policies, we are actively embodying them.”

She said the summit sets a standard for how governments can effectively collaborate with various sectors to drive national development.

President of the TT Chamber of Industry and Commerce Kiran Maharaj, in her remarks, said TT needs serious start-ups and serious investors that would be able to face uncertainty and still make an investment.

“Government grants will only take you so far,” she said.

She said lack of information, risk assessments, business forecasting and continuity planning were some of the biggest setbacks to investing, while being slow to adapt to digital methods, fear of letting go of what may cause inefficiencies and lack of governance also slow MSMEs down.

“You must have courage, you must have commitment,” she said.

She said the summit will give businesses and investors the opportunity to gain insights from each other, learn, discover, interact and exchange information in a manner that would allow all parties to better understand how the region can move forward.