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The forum represents an attempt to do just that - and today the Prime Minister's office put its best foot forward for the business community. Here's how it went:..

Jules Vasquez reporting
Held under the theme Partnering for Growth - the Business Forum played to a full house at the Jungle Pavilion at Old Belize.

Almost all of the 200 plus seats were filled - and the event was hosted by the Economic Development Council - a body which came out of last year's summit and is now a secretariat in the Prime Minister's Office which meets bi-weekly.

Kay Menzies, Co chairman Economic Development Council
"The year since the Prime Minister held the first economic forum has truly been a learning experience. It is not an easy thing to: one, get the public and private sector to speak and understand each other's language. Two, decide what from a fairly long list of urgent issues should and can be tackled first. Three, decide how best to tackle that what which we decide to tackle."

Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"The main focus of this Forum is, through ongoing and intensive collaboration and cooperation between the public and private sectors, to identify and implement those approaches, activities and operations that will raise the level of business activity in Belize on a sustainable basis."

And tackling crime is - according to the Prime Minister - the top national priority.

Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"We all recognize and freely concede that crime is without a doubt the major domestic issue at this time. Let me just say though that we fully recognize that crime and in particular, violent crime is a societal evil that is also a major obstacle to the growth and even the maintenance of business activity levels that security is now a critically important business cost area that there is no way we can give in to a climate that holds entire communities including the commercial sector hostage."

"So Government will wheel and come again. We have re-strategized, we will re-mobilize, we will re-operationalize. We believe we have finally found a way to get the shooters off the streets and into an institution."

Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"We have a way of utilizing some little known laws that will allow us to take people off the streets and incarcerate them not in the context of the normal criminal sentencing policies but in the context of provisions that allow for people to be put away in the context of their anti-social behavior."

And while there's a new plan for crime - or at least punishment - there's also a plan for middle class mortgages:

Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"So that first time would be home owners experiencing difficulty in raising their 10% contribution would be assisted with this programme. In order to actualize this Government has actually earmarked an initial $3.5 million for the programme. This would assist a minimum of 350 borrowers with their equity part of the total equation, which would in turn represent an aggregate sum of $35 million in new housing construction."

And those loans of no more than one hundred thousand would be made from the DFC or commercial banks - which - at this summit - unlike the last one - the PM seemed to have very little trouble with:

Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"There is currently $131m in excess liquidity in the banking system. And while there is still the issue of a widening spread between deposit and lending rates, the fact is that the latter is at an historic low of 12.23%. So in terms of both the quantity and cost 57:01 of capital, the winds are in the private sector's sails."

And at today's forum, that private sector seemed receptive.

Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"The fact is that there has been this tremendous improvement in the relations between the public and private sectors over the past year, and far greater realism and understanding on both sides."

But, it's not a stretch to say that - with the economy still in the doldrums - the business sector needs more than understanding:

Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"Of course, I am the first to concede that by the next time we meet we will have to be able to enumerate a far longer list of deliverables that have actually been achieved."

This year the media was only allowed to tape the opening address - and not the main session. We'd say that move was probably to avoid any possibility of us capturing a repeat of the timeless tongue lashing the PM put on former Agriculture CEO Gabino Canto. But, from what we are told, this year's session was civil and continued until after the lunch hour.