The Honorable Minister of Finance of Trinidad and Tobago, Mr. Larry Howai, gave way to the opening of the conference. Among those in the opening committee sat the representative of the Inter-American Development Bank in Trinidad and Tobago, Ms. Michelle Cross Fenty, the representative of the Organization of American States (OAS), Mr. Riyad Insanally, and the High Commissioner of Canada, Mr. Gerard La Tulippe.

The Representative of the OAS, Riyad Insanally, highlighted the importance of the work made by the Organization of American States regarding their function as the Technical Secretariat of the Inter-American Network on Government Procurement (INGP) that is carried out through their e-Government program of the Department for Effective Public Management, which promotes the modernization and technological application of Information and Communication Technologies among INGP member countries. Mr. Insanally also mentioned the support given by the Inter-American Development Bank and the International Development Research Center (IDRC) who have contributed to the continuing exchange of information and assistance to member countries of the network.

The conference and the workshop in Public Procurement also received assistance from the Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Center (CARTAC).

The conference was well received among the participants. Fourteen Caribbean territories and INGP member countries attended the conference: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the British Virgin Islands, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The conference was divided by sessions with the following topics:

• Session I: Challenges in Implementing Procurement Reforms & Developing a Legal and Regulatory Framework for Public Procurement 
• Session II: Procurement Operations- Organizing for an Effective Procurement System 
• Session III: The Case For Electronic Government Procurement Compras Públicas Electrónicas
• Session IV: Professionalization in Public Procurement: Effective use of Policies, Procedures and Manuals