The CARICOM heads of Government Twentieth inter-sessional meeting was supposed to have finished at 4:00 today - but at news time, it was still going – late indications were that they hoped to finish by 7:00. Yes, what’s jokingly referred to as CSME time is known to lag behind real time – but three hours over? That’s some serious overtime, and as Chairman and Belizean Prime Minister Dean Barrow explained this afternoon at a press briefing, it’s taking that long because the issues are so weighty and foremost among them is the global financial crisis.
Hon. Dean Barrow, CARICOM Chairman
“It’s been a meeting that’s been characterized by an extremely heavy agenda and of course that agenda has provoked wide ranging comprehensive discussions and some very important decisions. One of the most important subjects with which we dealt is the global financial and economic crisis and its impact on the community.”
Patrick Manning, Prime Minister - Trinidad & Tobago
“There as a commitment on the part of everybody to ensure that whatever negative effects may evolve for the Caribbean from this international financial situation, we are determined to put our heads together to solve those problems. We see the financial situation as a Caribbean problem, not the problem of any one country.”
Hon. Dean Barrow,
“It is very encouraging, it is salutary that we’re coming away with a regional commitment to deal with the effects regionally. Exactly what will be done can’t really be spoken to until the assessment can be made of the scope and the extent of the problem. But I certainly found it extremely heartening that there was not any question of beggaring thy neighbour, there was not any question of each for himself.”
Belize’s principal exposure to the crisis is through the CLICO insurance company which has been placed under judicial management. But as Prime Minister Manning indicated, CARICOM has embraced that collectively – but
what was not such an easy embrace was the issue of the CRNM, the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery. That’s the group in charge of negotiating a trade Agreement between CARICOM and Canada. But a number of regional leaders have plainly expressed a lack of confidence in the CRNM to competently carry out this task. Manning explained that they came to Belize seeking a solution and they got it – hard won as it was.
Patrick Manning,
“We sought here in Belize to treat with a number issues that have been elusive for some time and with respect of which solutions are vital. Take for example the status of the negotiation machinery for trade negotiations in the Caribbean. That has been a contentious matter as you know and we finally came to a conclusion on it, exactly what is the relationship between the CRNM and the established organs of the institutions will be and the CRNM will now report to the CARICOM Secretariat and through the secretariat to the heads of governments.”
Hon. Dean Barrow,
“This is an issue that has commanded the attention of heads for a while, before certainly I became Prime Minister here in Belize and the importance of defining properly the arrangements for leading Caribbean wide negotiations on trade issues is paramount. But it had been difficult prior to this meeting to achieve consensus on the matter. Consensus has been reached here in Belize. For that we’re all very grateful.”
And while weighty technical matters such as the CRNM dominated the
deliberations – the CARCICOM leaders also discussed everyday issues such as crime and security. St. Kitts PM, Denzil Douglas said that they are planning a separate summit to look at the gang phenomenon.
Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister – St. Kitts & Nevis
“Looking particularly at gang and gun violence and crime among young people within the Caribbean community, there is no doubt that we are under tremendous challenge at this time within the Caribbean region. We do not manufacture guns as far as I know in Caribbean community yet we continue to be impacted by the tremendous legal flow of small arms into the region, mainly because of our porous borders and because I believe that this is involved in the continuing international trade in guns and drugs, generally which have been impacting our community negatively and thus now impacting our young people who are becoming more and more involved in an alien activity of gang culture and thus seeing more and more threats from gang violence and gang crimes.”
