The University of South Florida International Affairs Center invited Brian Dean to sit as a panelist for a conference on Florida business opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean hosted by the. His panel’s topic of discussion focused on determining whether the current financial situation entails an energy crisis or energy opportunity in Latin America/Caribbean for the state of Florida. Moderated by John Bersia of the University of Central Florida, B. Dean contended that with the development of adequate infrastructure and market-oriented policies, Florida stands to be a primary beneficiary of energy cooperation within the Americas in the sector of biofuels.
The Tampa Bay summit was kick started by USF Chancellor Mark Rosenberg and energy was one of three sub-themes along with the new US administration’s position on trade with Latin America and the impact of the global financial crisis on trade and investment between Latin America/Caribbean and Florida. Eric Farnsworth, Vice President of the Council of the Americas, gave the keynote address from the perspective of Washington, and afterwards took questions from students, academics and others with a business interest. The academic director for the Patel Center for Global Solutions commented on the importance of the conference. “Although growth opportunities are hard to come by in nearly every part of the world right now, the Summit gave local Florida businesses and investors an opportunity to hear and question experts who understand how to identify the investment and trade niches in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2009,” he said. Over 120 people attended the conference including a strong showing from both academia and the private sector.
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