As the private sector plays a vital role in job-creation and prosperity, the Organization of American States (OAS) General Secretariat supports the business community’s efforts to contribute ideas and initiatives that pursue the goals of enhanced economic growth, prosperity and poverty reduction in the Hemisphere and that complement the actions taken by the OAS Member States and development institutions.

In this effort, the Trinidad and Tobago National Secretariat for the V summit of the Americas and the OAS, in coordination with the organization Private Sector of the Americas, and prominent business leaders of the Western Hemisphere, organize the Forum: “Promoting Private Sector-Led Prosperity in the Emerging Decade: The Quest for Competitiveness,” to be held in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, on April 15-16, 2009. The Forum is also set against the background of the impact of the current crises in energy and investment on global business growth and confidence.

The convening of this meeting takes place on the occasion of the V Summit of the Americas, which will gather the Heads of State of 34 governments of the Western Hemisphere, on April 17-19, 2009, in Port of Spain. Trinidad and Tobago.