Commonwealth Business Forum

The reason for my visit to Trinidad was the Commonwealth Business Forum. The 2009 Commonwealth Business Forum was held as part of the 2009 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Trinidad & Tobago and attracted over 1,000 business and government leaders from over 50 countries.

The Forum promotes practices and policies for the enhancement of global trade and investment. It provides new opportunities for business networking and partnerships, drawing on the Commonwealth’s comparative advantage in areas such as services, information and communications technology, banking and financial services, manufacturing, agriculture and natural resources.

The event was held on a cruise ship docked in the harbour of Port of Spain. During the day delegates had an opportunity to sit in on various sessions and in the evening there were cocktails and gala dinners. The cocktails, held on the pool deck of the ship, were livened up by traditional Trinidad steel pan bands.