BARBADOS -TECHNOLOGY-Caribbean countries urged to quickly adapt digitization for future socio-economic development.

Barbados Monday urged the Caribbean to make full use digital technology to build more robust and diversified economies that can better weather future and present gobal challenges.

Senior Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, William F. Duguid, said small island developing states (SIDS), face a myriad of challenges which necessitates that they continue to diversify their economies for sustainable growth and development that would redound to the benefit of their citizens.

' For too long we have depended on too few industries including tourism and manufacturing to sustain our economies,' he said as he delivered the feature address at the opening of the 'The Global Government Forum's Caribbean Digital Summit and the Caribbean Telecommunications Union's Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) Week 2023'.

Senior Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, William F. Duguid

Duguid told the audience that SIDS, including Barbados, are faced with unsustainable high levels of debt which significantly constrain growth and development and that there are high levels of unemployment and underemployment in the region .

'As SIDS, we are naturally prone to disasters and increasingly frequent and severe weather events which are being worsened by climate change. Wars, supply chain issues various health outbreaks and changes in the price of oil serve to further aggravate the challenges faced by the region.

'The COVID-19 Pandemic tested the resilience of economies in the Caribbean. Barbados and the broader Caribbean region, like many other parts of the world, faced significant challenges, economic and otherwise, during the pandemic.

'This underscored the importance of diversification, digital transformation, and sustainability for the region's future economic well-being. It forced us into the digital age and many countries globally are using this experience to build more robust and diversified economies that can better weather future challenges. So must we in this region,' Dugid said.

The weeklong activities are being held under the theme 'Embracing a Digital Caribbean: Opportunities for Growth and Innovation,' and Dugid said the two events will allow 'us to celebrate our shared commitment to harness the incredible potential of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to the benefit of our Caribbean economies'

He said the events, being hosted by the Global Governance Forum (GGF) and the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) underscore 'the...