Prime Minister John Briceno continues his participation at the ninth Summit of the Americas tonight and he should be attending a Leaders' Dinner hosted by the US President Joe Biden in a few hours.
Today, he and other hemispheric leaders addressed the first plenary session where Briceno spoke boldly, urging hosts President Biden and vice President Kamala Harris to spend on this hemisphere the same way they are doing for Ukraine which is in eastern Europe:
Hon. John Briceno - Prime Minister
"As we seek solutions we know that money is not the problem. For example, in less than three months two countries in this hemisphere committed over $55 billion to Ukraine. The question is: how much will be pledged to finance the ambitious agendas we agree at this Summit? The future of the Western Hemisphere is a responsibility of all the countries of this hemisphere. Irrespective of our size, or GDP, or our system of governance, we all have a shared interest in a sustainable, resilient and equitable future. The power of the Summit of the Americas is the space it provides for all the countries of the Americas to dialogue and agree on joint actions. The Summit belongs to all of the Americas. It is therefore inexcusable that all countries of the Americas are not here, and the power of the Summit diminished by their absence. It is incomprehensible that we would isolate countries of the Americas which have provided strong leadership and contributed to the hemisphere on the critical issues of our time. Excellencies, at this most critical juncture when the future of our hemisphere is at stake, we stand divided. And that is why this Summit of the Americas should have been inclusive. Belize rejects the unilateral right of any country to impose exclusions. We assert, unequivocally, that the principle of inclusivity must be the touchstone of all future summits. Geography, not politics, defines the Americas. The Belizean people, like people across Latin America and the Caribbean, are weathering successive and simultaneous crises. Caribbean economies are in a precarious place because of our inherent vulnerabilities to external shocks, including exposure to climate change and devastating storms. But the pandemic and now the effects because of the war in Ukraine have further battered our economies."
