ST JOHN’S, Antigua – Minister of Finance and the Economy Harold Lovell is currently among economic, political and corporate leaders from around the world at the Palm Beach Strategic Forum, which is presented by the International Economic Forum of the Americas.

The event began yesterday and concludes today at the Palm Beach County Convention Center.

Discussion for the second annual forum will centre on this year’s theme, Competing in a World of Emerged Economies.

Minister Lovell is down to deliver a presentation on Tuesday, during the Signature Americas Session. The topic is To Trade or Not to Trade: Business Prospects in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The rest of the panel is Former President of the Republic of Guatemala Marco Vinicio Cerezo Arevalo and Aruba’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Social Affairs and Justice Michelle Hooyboer-Winklaar.

Pierre Pettigrew, Former Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister, Canada will give the concluding remarks. Barry Featherman, Director of Duane Morris Government Affairs and Executive Director of Global Centre for Development and Democracy will chair the session.

Lovell said participation at the Palm Beach Strategic Forum would afford Antigua & Barbuda the opportunity to highlight the opportunities for trade available here as well as the challenges facing small island states.

“The participants at this gathering will include international decision makers at all levels. This is a chance to present Antigua & Barbuda, the OECS and CARICOM as ideal for investment, owing to our stable democracies, economies, geographic location and the goods and services we offer,” Lovell said.

The mission of the forum, organisers said, is to address the major governance challenges of the new world economic order, focusing on the central role of the Americas in the global market.

This year’s specific aim includes focusing on corporate strategies for success, in particular, how companies of various sizes effectively compete for international markets; how innovative partnership between government and the private sector can be formed to address new challenges; and how much emphasis should be given to creating strategic incentives for a competitive and highly skilled workforce.

Also included among the extensive list of speakers for the two-day event is Shaukat Aziz, former prime minister of Pakistan; Heraldo Muñoz, assistant secretary-general of the United Nations and UNDP Director for Latin America and the Caribbean; Ricardo Quijano, minister of commerce and industry, Government of Panama; Charles D Sherman, editor-in-chief, Miami Herald International; and Alejandro Toledo, president, Global Center for Development and Democracy, and former president of Peru.

Governor of the State of Florida Rick Scott delivered the keynote address at the opening luncheon on Monday.