Dr Perry Christie with Dr Jeffrey Thompson, President of Cayman Islands Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (CICSDA)

Speaking when he received an honorary doctorate degree from Northern Caribbean University (NCU), Christie said he would like to see universities develop signature programmes unique to their institutions, to which students from other islands would come to complete their degree requirements.

"I believe firmly that the way ahead lies in creating signature programmes at each institution, which draw on the strength and uniqueness that each territory possesses. Depending on our resource base, some of us may be best positioned to develop strong tourism and hospitality, marine science, agriculture, heavy industry programmes and the like.

He called on the heads of institutions to begin talks "on how we can establish co-operative ventures in programming, research, conferences, exchange of faculty  and students."

The Bahamian Prime Minister called on the people of the region to show the world how to make capital from the celebration of commonalities, the promotion of brotherhood, rather than highlighting differences.

"Individually we have only some of the answers; together, we will possess that much more," he added.

"Whether we are conscious of it or not, the people of our region possess some of the best brains and the greatest fortitude known to man. You have only to reflect on our performance in various fields. If we based our assessment of supremacy on a population size to achievement ratio, the Caribbean would emerge as a real powerhouse."

Dr Hassan Syed, the newly appointed president of the University College of the Cayman Islands (UCCI), said Christie's comments had merit.

"The Caribbean region mostly comprises of small island states and the reality is that it is not possible for the state to provide and meet all the needs of growing and vibrant economies in terms of skills development and higher learning," he said.

"What is possible is the close collaboration between the regional institutions to leverage existing expertise and share the knowledge that can lead to collective regional development."

He acknowledged that there are existing collaborative efforts under the auspices of the United Nations and the CARICOM, but added that these have had a limited impact due to a variety of reasons.

"The University College of the Cayman Islands is open to the idea of collaboration and welcomes regional institutions to share information and expertise," he said.

Christie said that Caribbean people were resilient despite the atrocities of economic plunder and he called on them to hold fast to their Caribbean identity.

"We must cling to the traditions of our foreparents who passed on the values and history of  our tribes through story and song. We must continue to tell our stories in an intimate way, but at the same time expand the number of  communication vehicles, so that our histories and values will be strengthened and live on," he said.

He praised the Northern Caribbean University, for offering a brand of education that has trained numerous leaders for his country. He praised the institution for its stance on Christian education and urged graduates to stem the tide of ethnic and religious conflict threatening the world, he said all that  would only  begin with true education.

"Education does not, in false pride, allow modernity to crush and  discard worthy tradition. I'm talking education that leaves the Creator in the story of creation.  True education, such as is offered at NCU, which feeds the whole person, is education that speaks to the dignity of humankind," Christie said.