delisle worrell : economic and financial services developments in barbados welcome remarks by dr delisle worrell, governor of the central bank of barbados, at the domestic financial institutions conference 2015, bridgetown, 8 september 2015. * * * welcome everyone to the annual one day conference on banking and other financial services for barbadians and residents, organised by the financial services commission and the central bank, in association with the bankers ’ association and our other partners in the private sector. as you know the fsc and cbb host two of these conferences every year, the other one with a focus on our international financial services. ( the 2015 international financial services conference took place on april 10 ). today ’ s conference comes at a time when the economy has overcome the foreign exchange challenge of 2013 by the decisive budgetary adjustment taken in that year. the adjustment policy is a textbook example of how economies like ours should respond to foreign exchange market pressure. the keys to success are early detection of the problem and swift implementation of tax increases and public expenditure cuts, sufficient to reduce the demand for imports. with that episode behind us, the focus returns to measures to grow the economy. tourism is our main source of foreign exchange and we have had an encouraging revival in numbers and spending this year. new investment is underway or in prospect in hotels, tourism related services, public utilities and infrastructure. both in tourism and in international business and financial services, government and private interests are taking initiatives to enhance the quality and range of our offerings, to explore new markets and to build the barbados brand as the basis for our competitiveness. quality, branding and smart marketing are also the key elements of the strategy for exports of food, beverages and manufactured goods. we have begun to recognise that power generation through alternative energy has the power to transform our economy. now that we have made a start with photovoltaics, incentives for investment in green energy must be made effective, so that investment accelerates significantly. the economic benefits of expansion of the foreign exchange sectors are spread through the society largely via small and medium enterprises. these enterprises will be the main source of job creation in the near term. smes are also the wellsprings of innovation and of the development of cultural and ict services barbados aims to sell to an international market. government plays a vital role in supporting these growth promoting activities with incentives, and technical, financial and other support. in addition, government has the responsibility to secure fair access to international markets for barbados ’

recovery efforts. much emphasis has been placed on solar energy but bio - based renewables also present a winwin! they have the potential to power the economy while minimising waste and enabling us to make the best use of our resources. they generate energy. they help us to manage our carbon footprint. they boost local agriculture production by supplying organic fertilizers. and they improve our tourism value - added because the oceans and the island are cleaner. we support all efforts to promote and encourage the use of clean energy sources and commend the government for accelerating the shift to 100 percent renewable energy. the move has the potential to create more sustainable jobs. new opportunities will rise for engineers, technicians, technologists, investors and entrepreneurs. the oil rich nation, saudi arabia, is harnessing the sun and expanding its solar capacity to create new jobs. we can and must do the same. our switch to renewables will lead to new industries as well and create the potential for greater investment diversification, as investors look for “ green ” options for pension funds, etc. so, as we reflect on david suzuki ’ s 2004 sir winston scott memorial lecture topic, i say : the bottom line is that we must protect our environment, and our economy. let ’ s all do so by supporting the conversion of waste to energy as a part of our energy mix, by embracing sustainable sources of renewables, and by reducing our carbon footprint. that ’ s how we will make our environment and our economy more resilient. the ball is in our court. i thank you. 2 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches