for greater collaboration with others. in this regard, i would like to see greater collaboration between cartac and other like - minded regional institutions such as the university of the west indies, cemla and the ccmf. in closing, i wish to remind you all that this meeting is taking place the day before two successive national holidays, corpus christi and indian arrival day. the timing is therefore opportune for you to experience some of our country's religious and cultural heritage and to partake in our delicious indigenous cuisine. i thank you and wish you all a very productive meeting. bis central bankers ’ speeches

ewart s williams : small and medium - sized enterprises in trinidad and tobago – challenges and priorities opening remarks by mr ewart s williams, governor of the central bank of trinidad and tobago, at the small and medium - sized enterprises seminar, port - of - spain, 24 november 2008. * * * good morning and welcome to this very important seminar on “ developing viable small and medium - sized enterprises in trinidad and tobago : challenges and priorities ”. the seminar is being jointly hosted by the central bank of trinidad and tobago ; the inter - american development bank ; the ministry of labour and small and microenterprise development ; the ministry of trade and industry ; and the ministry of planning, housing and the environment. i would like to thank the honourable prime minister for gracing us with his presence, which underscores the importance that the government places on small and medium - sized enterprises ( sme ) development. i would also like to take this opportunity to warmly welcome our guests from overseas – dr. erik terk from the estonian institute for future studies and mr. martin clemensson, the chief of small enterprise development at the international labour organisation. a special word of thanks to mr. iwan sewberath - misser, country representative at inter - american development bank, and to the various ministries who have lent much support to this event. there is no doubt that the importance of the sme sector to the supply side of the economy is much more widely appreciated now than it used to be. while there is a dearth of reliable statistics, it is certain that the sme sector is a major provider of employment and makes an important contribution to the country ’ s gdp. in recognition of its critical importance, the sme sector has moved up the policy agenda and in fact, the sector has been identified as having a critical role to play in the economic diversification effort as envisaged in the government ’ s 2020 vision. sme development is currently being implemented across a very broad front by the government, as well as by private - sector organizations. initial steps have been introduced to use the education system to encourage an entrepreneurial culture – the idea that starting a business is a viable career option. the government has established institutions to provide technical support, including training and advice as well as direct financial assistance to smes, fiscal incentives have been provided for sme development ( though, perhaps this is not sufficiently known ) and some private financial institutions have opened small business windows to service the sector