The Minister of Home Affairs, Public Safety and Utilities, the Honourable Otis C. Morris attended the 7th Caribbean Infrastructure Forum (CARIF) which was held in Miami, Florida from 18th – 19th September 2023. CARIF is an important gathering of regional government and utility decision-makers, leading developers and financiers. The forum provides a platform for important discussions on sustainable infrastructure and the critical role it plays in stimulating economic growth, accelerating decarbonization and building resilience across the Caribbean.
Hon. Morris participated in a ministerial keynote panel discussion with ministerial and multilateral leaders on the topic “Delivering on Island Infrastructure Ambitions”. The panel focused on:
- National infrastructure plans
- How is climate adapting cross-cutting sectors in infrastructure planning long-term
- To what degree is technology being integrated into infrastructure planning and design to increase resilience and reduce costs
- What can be done to encourage increased investment in island infrastructure
The Minister was joined by:
- Honorable William Duguid, M.P. – Senior Minister Infrastructure and Planning, Office of the Prime Minister of Barbados
- Joseph Cox – Assistant Secretary-General, Economic Integration, Innovation and Development, CARICOM Secretariat
- Isaac Solomon – Vice President, Operations, Caribbean Development Bank
- Frederic Verdol – Infrastructure Program Leader for the Caribbean, World Bank Group
As the minister with responsibility for energy and transportation, Hon. Morris’ contribution centered around the energy and transport sectors which is critical to the overall infrastructure ambitions of the TCI. Hon. Morris highlighted the transformative plans for the energy and transport sectors with a specific focus on energy security and the transportation master plan.
The two-day forum which covered infrastructure with a broad interpretation and underlying focus on resilience and economic growth, also featured discussions on:
- Food security
- Tourism and shipping industries
- Energy and utilities
- Waste and water management
- Health, digital and other critical infrastructure
Commenting on his experience at CARIF, Hon. Morris stated, “I am grateful to have had the opportunity to participate and share the important work that is being done to advance and strengthen infrastructure from a TCI perspective”.
Hon. Morris further added, “while the infrastructure mandate rests with the Ministry of Planning and Infrastructure Development there are significant linkages between the energy and transportation sectors to the overall infrastructure goals and it requires collaborative work to deliver on the mandate.”
The Turks and Caicos Islands government was also represented by a delegation from the Planning Department within the Ministry of Planning and Infrastructure Development.
