Washington -- August 2, 2007 -- The Inter-American Development Bank is sponsoring the first high level seminar, “Expanding Bioenergy Opportunities in the Caribbean,”  in Greater Georgetown, Guyana, August 6-7, to disseminate recent studies on the field, convey and formalize the regional efforts towards the development of the Caribbean Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency and Bioenergy Action Program (CREBAP), initiate a dialogue on agro-energy strategy for the region, and foster partnerships among public and private sectors, including private investors and project developers interested in the Caribbean bioenergy industry.

The seminar will look at the entire Biofuels portfolio, of which sugar/ethanol is a major focus to explore economic opportunities, including seeking synergies between the sugar cane industry and the energy sector in Caricom member states.

This event will bring together high level authorities from Caricom member states, Brazil, Colombia, USA, as well as corporate, government and research centers to explore expanding bioenergy opportunities.

Feature address by the President of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo, will set the direction for the discussion, which is geared toward gaining a better understanding of the priorities within the agriculture and energy sectors of Guyana and the other Caribbean sugar producing countries.

Speakers at the event will also include Guyana’s Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud; Caricom Secretary General Edwin Carrington; IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno, IICA Director General, Chelston Brathwaite; OAS Assistant Secretary General, Ambassador Albert R. Ramdin.

The event  is organized by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, the Caribbean Renewable Energy Development Program (CREDP), and the Government of Guyana, in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), with support from the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), and the Organization of American States (OAS).

Source: iadb.org