BRIDGETOWN, Barbados - The Caribbean has been described as a region that is booming, with vibrant, innovative business and entrepreneurs and should use the Caribbean Investment Forum (CIF) to deal with the challenges facing its untapped potential.
Fiona Ramsey, who currently serves as the Ambassador of the European Union to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, addressing the Caribbean Investment Forum (CMC Photo)Addressing the three day CIF2026 here on Tuesday, Fiona Ramsey, who currently serves as the Ambassador of the European Union to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, said the EU is very proud to be a very long-standing partner of Caribbean export.
The CIF is the region’s premier platform for advancing transformative Caribbean projects toward investment. It is organised by the Caribbean Export Development Agency and continues to drive high-impact investments that power the Caribbean’s sustainability, digital transformation, regional integration, and inclusive growth.
Ramsey told the conference that having spent the past year living and working in the Eastern Caribbean region, she has had the privilege of speaking with many people from Caribbean entrepreneurs to European companies who have been visiting or are present in the region.
“And what is clear to me is that the Caribbean is booming with vibrant, innovative businesses and entrepreneurs. It’s a region full of untapped opportunity, clear growth potential, and bright trade prospects.”
The EU diplomat said that at the same time, she acknowledges the hurdles, the challenges of attracting foreign investment, accessing capital, retaining the region’s incredible talent, and getting Caribbean businesses the global attention that they truly deserve.
“And for me, the Caribbean Investment Forum is a way to tackle these hurdles. It is how we can convert our shared knowledge of the region’s opportunities into lasting, real-world partnerships,” she said, adding that she is delighted to see such a significant portion of the Forum dedicated to those investment-ready projects.
Ramsey said that while she knows investments take time, “the tangible results of this week may only become visible in the months and years to come.
“But I’m already picturing, actually, in my mind, a future meeting with a company or government partners who I think will smile and tell me, well, it all started at the Caribbean Investment Forum …in Barbados…”.
She said that the Caribbean Investment Forum is also an example of how the European Union, through its Global Gateway approach, is building partnerships across the region.
“Our focus is on uniting public policy objectives with private investments that can deliver sustainable growth. And by that, I mean growth that strengthens local value chains, creates high-quality jobs, growth that allows Caribbean talent to flourish right here at home, growth that capitalises on the Caribbean’s unique assets and empowers the region’s products and services to compete in the global economy.”
The EU diplomat said the pharmaceutical sector provides a “concrete” example of the development going forward, noting that the Caribbean currently imports 9 per cent of its medicines.
She said Barbados, Guyana, and other countries in the region want to change that and three years ago, in discussions with Prime Minister Mia Motley of Barbados and the President of Guyana, Irfaan Ali, the European Union committed to supporting this vision of change.
“And today, that commitment is taking shape. Biomedics Barbados is an established European-Barbadian joint venture bringing together expertise and capital for applied biomedical research here in the Caribbean,” she said, adding that Barbados Pharmaceutical Inc. is in Milan and one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical market affairs “deepening partnerships with the European industry.
“These practical steps are supporting Caribbean expertise and skilled jobs in the pharmaceutical sector and the type of opportunities I hope this forum is designed to advance.”.
She reiterated that pharmaceuticals are just one example and that the European Union is working across the region pursuing similar investment opportunities in renewable energy, maritime transport and connectivity, digitalisation, and the sargassum value chain.
She said as the EU seeks to further strengthen the partnership with the Caribbean “I have no doubt that we will find increased opportunities for trade, technology transfer, and sustainable investments.
“We are building partnerships where we truly count on each other,” she added.
