St. Croix will host the fourth annual Carib News Multinational Business Conference, October 14-17, 1999, at the Sunterra Carambola Beach Resort. This four-day conference is expected to attract hundreds of influential leaders
from the African-American community to discuss U.S. and Caribbean business relations. Corporate executives, entrepreneurs, political leaders and investors will convene on St. Croix to spawn potential new business partnerships.
An unprecedented number of Congressional representatives from New York, New Jersey, Texas, Georgia, Florida, California, Pennsylvania, Maryland and other parts of the country will also participate in this year's conference in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Organized by the Carib News newspaper that is published in New York City, this Multinational Business Conference attracts prominent business leaders and government officials each year who are interested in building commercial links between U.S. and Caribbean businesses for the purpose of forming profitable new enterprises.
Several Caribbean heads of state, U.S. Congressional representatives, major African-American media outlets and top executives from small- to large-size companies will be active participants in this year's conference.
I am very excited about the opportunity to host this business conference, U.S. Virgin Islands Acting Commissioner of Tourism Michael Bornn said. It is a timely occasion to have so many influential government and business leaders gathered in one place to discuss issues related to commercial development within the Caribbean region.
This year's Carib News Mulitinational Business Conference in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, enjoys a unique position because it connects the Caribbean CARICOM countries along with the USVI to African-American business persons, political leaderships and major corporations all in an effort of doing business together, Karl Rodney, publisher and CEO of Carib News, said.
More than 20 Black Congressional representatives are scheduled to attend the conference in the U.S. Virgin Islands, representing the largest gathering of members of the Congressional Black Caucus to be assembled outside of the U.S. mainland to discuss economic and social issues of importance to the Caribbean and the U.S. The distinguished list of delegates who have confirmed their participation in this year's conference include: former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and former Mayor of Atlanta Andrew Young; Houston Mayor Lee Brown; former New York City Mayor David Dinkins; Reverend Al Sharpton; Chairman Emeritus of the Inner-City Broadcasting Corporation Percy Sutton; and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater. Among the many members of Congress also scheduled to attend are: U.S. House Representative and ranking Democrat of the House Ways and Means Committee Charles Rangel of Manhattan; Maxine Waters of California; Carrie Meeks and Alcee Hastings of Florida; Congressman Donald Payne of New Jersey; Ed Towns of Brooklyn, NY; Chaka Fattah of Philadelphia, Pa.; and John Lewis of Atlanta, Ga.
Topics on the agenda for this year's conference include: the effects of e-commerce and high technology on business development in the USVI and other Caribbean destinations; the critical role of government in emerging markets; future growth of the Caribbean's tourism industry; and building diverse partnerships between business enterprises in the U.S. and the Caribbean. American Airlines, AT&T, Coca-Cola, Bell Atlantic and Western Union are among the corporate sponsors of the event.
We are delighted with the unprecedented positive response of the Black-elected officials in Washington who have decided that the matters to be considered are of such importance that they want to participate in the dialogue, Karl Rodney said. The conference will certainly give the Black-elected officials, the new Governor of the Virgin Islands, Dr. Charles Turnbull, and others a chance to examine those matters which will have a serious impact on the Caribbean, especially the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The large number of Congressional representatives underscores the importance which they attach to the conference, U.S. Virgin Islands House representative Donna Christian-Christensen said. We see this as a vital opportunity to see how we can work together to achieve common economic and social goals.
For more information about the Carib News Multinational Business Conference, call (212) 944-1991. For additional information about St. Croix, St. John and St. Thomas, call the Visitor's Center at (800) 372-USVI.