accounted for 38 per cent of regional gdp and our per capita income is about us $ 19, 000 compared with an average of us $ 8, 900 for the other caricom territories. the bahamas and barbados have higher per capita incomes. as we all know, the entire region was affected by global recession, some countries more than others. in 2009 – 2010, economic activity in the oecs declined by a cumulative 9 per cent. in barbados and jamaica, the cumulative decline was about one - half this amount – about 5 per cent. in these countries, the main contributing factors were the sharp fall in tourist arrivals and workers ’ remittances. the oecs were further affected by the impact of the clf / clico crisis ( in fact, it was baico ) and the devastation caused by hurricane tomas, particularly in st lucia and st vincent and the grenadines. bis central bankers ’ speeches ( the region remained in crisis in 2011. while there has been some improvement in tourist arrivals, the oecs saw another year of economic decline, albeit at a reduced rate. jamaica and barbados both reported the start of a very weak recovery ). in trinidad and tobago real gdp is estimated to have declined by 3 per cent in 2009 remained flat in 2010 and declined again in 2011 ( by just over 1 per cent ). i should note that guyana and suriname were the only two countries in the region that emerged unscathed, largely because of their gold resources which benefited from rising international prices. trinidad and tobago ’ s more resilient economic performance, relative to its neighbours, owes much to our energy resources and to the entrepreneurial dynamism of our private sector. these endowments are reflected, inter alia, in our stronger government finances, lower public debt, more robust foreign reserve positions, and in our dominance in regional trade. the following summary statistics paint the picture. regional governments have run fiscal deficits each year since 2000, while trinidad and tobago has run fiscal surpluses for all but two years, over the same period. the caricom region boasts of having among the most highly - indebted countries in the world, with public debt averaging around 70 per cent of gdp ( jamaica, grenada and st kitts and nevis have debt ratios of over 100 per cent of gdp ). in contrast, trinidad and tobago has a public debt ratio of 38 per cent of gdp. the relative fiscal and public debt performance are part of the story that

zero in periods when external shocks hit a country. 4. introduce resilience building as the main conditionality for fund and bank lending to small states. small states are vulnerable because of their exposure to shocks and lack of resilience. this vulnerability is structural. it is not solely the outcome of poor policy choices. the prime minister of st. kitts and nevis chaired a commonwealth high level advocacy mission over the past week to discuss these proposals with the international financial institutions. the mission included the finance ministers of jamaica, seychelles, samoa and tonga. we, therefore, encourage the fund to work together with the world bank and the commonwealth secretariat to refine these proposals into concrete and specific policy measures that can be applied to all small states. bis central bankers ’ speeches diversity at the fund to switch gears, we want to address a somewhat softer but nonetheless important issue, that is, diversity at the fund. we are aware that you have taken a keen interest in this matter. so we feel confident that our concerns will receive attention. as you may be aware, the number of caribbean nationals employed at the fund is dwindling, mainly on account of natural attrition. this declining trend also reflects other factors. perhaps the most noteworthy is the perceived weak effort on the part of the fund to actively recruit in the caribbean region. at the same time, there are supply side considerations. the “ brain drain ”, where our best and brightest migrate to advanced countries, has reduced the pool of available and talented economic and finance professionals. while addressing the brain drain is a long term endeavor that requires a holistic approach, we encourage the fund to re - engage the caribbean as it did decades ago and to actively recruit economists from the region and to further efforts to strengthen their career progression and promotion at the fund. the region has a history of producing economic luminaries such as sir arthur lewis and lloyd best. conclusion in closing, we encourage you to continue with the changes you have instituted that makes the fund more receptive and responsive to the needs of its members, especially the small states. it is regrettable that the deadline for entry into force of the 2010 quota and governance reforms, which sought to enhance the voice and representation of emerging and developing countries was missed, but this should not prevent the fund from operating according to the new paradigm which an overwhelming majority of members have already endorsed as the way forward. we in the caribbean remain resolute in our support for initiatives that help improve the fund ’