The opening ceremony for the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) 56th Annual Board of Governors Meeting was held in the capital on Wednesday at the Baha Mar Resort.

Minister of Finance and Chairman of the CDB Board of Governors, the Hon. Michael Halkitis addressed the group on determining its response to pressing issues in the region. He said, “the future demands strategy. The future demands transformation. The future demands bold leadership and collective action.”

Bank President, Daniel Best said the region’s strength lies in its shared history. “Our opportunity lies in our common challenges and our success will be determined by how boldly we embrace regional collaboration and partnership.”

The keynote presentation was delivered by Prime Minister the Hon. Philip Davis. He called on the Caribbean community to be the decider of its own fate when it comes to battling climate change and recovery from its impact. He said, “a region that learns only to survive will be asked to survive again and again and again until survival is the only thing it knows how to do. And I say we without exception because The Bahamas lives with this same reality.”

Mr. Davis went further stating it’s time for the region to build its own solutions. “We must no longer accept that a credit rating built for a continent should decide the fate of an archipelago. We must create tools of our own, regional guarantees, blended finance, mechanisms that reward our resilience instead of punishing our geography.”

The meeting is expected to end on Friday, June 5th.