After a week which included breakfast with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London and business luncheons with other Commonwealth heads in Malta, Prime Minister Said Musa returns home tomorrow.
At every chance and at every meeting, the cry of smaller nations was that free trade doesn't mean fair trade for small and vulnerable economies. In Malta, Belize and other CARICOM countries spoke up about the crippling effect international trade arrangements for sugar and bananas will have on this region. The leaders warned that it is in the best interest of developed countries to protect this region's cash crops or else.
They urged a subjective way forward, meaning something closer to the preferential trade regimes the region once enjoyed, regimes that have now been all but outlawed by the World Trade Organization. The leaders also gave support to Belize's Agreement on a Framework for Negotiations and Confidence Building Measures with Guatemala. The next Commonwealth meeting is scheduled for 2007 in Uganda.
