GEORGETOWN, Guyana (GINA) -- President Bharrat Jagdeo will be departing Guyana Thursday for neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago to attend the fifth Summit of the Americas, titled “Securing our Citizens’ Future by promoting human prosperity, Energy, Security and Environmental Sustainability”.
The President will be among Heads of Government of the independent Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Member States and about 20 other leaders of the Hemisphere who will be part of the forum in Port of Spain.
The leaders will be exchanging ideas and opinions on human prosperity, energy security, climate change and sustainable development and will also be developing strategies and solutions to collectively address challenges.
During a press conference on Wednesday at the Office of the President, the Head of State expressed hope that much focus will be placed on a few concrete initiatives rather than the long list of pledges made.
He made reference to the 66-paragraph draft declaration of Commitment Port of Spain which has already been negotiated. It includes some 100 pledges in the area of nutrition, health, housing, education, tackling poverty, violence, terrorism and crime, promoting human rights, and diversifying energy sources.
The Head of State however, expressed little confidence in the possibilities of all the aforementioned priority areas being implemented since the experiences of past summits have proven them to be ignored.
“It’s written in the typical language of summits of the part and this declaration has already been negotiated so I hope that our presence in Trinidad and Tobago would add value to the process and would allow us to select just a few of these initiatives that we can actually implement,” Jagdeo said.
He was however, optimistic about the region succeeding in the discussions relating to the relationship between the Caribbean and the United States of America because of the enlightened perspective of US President Barack Obama who is among those slated to attend.
The Head of State said President Obama has replaced confrontation with the offer of dialogue and regimes that the USA has traditionally ignored.
He alluded to the similarities between his recent comments and those of President Obama about drug trafficking and export of small arms from the US. The president had noted that more effort was required from the US to fight drug trafficking.
“When I mentioned these things at a couple of my engagements here, some people quickly jumped on the bandwagon and they said we were against the United States of America and since they were the defenders of the American interests here in Guyana, they thought I was being extreme. I was very pleased that weeks later both President Obama and Hillary Clinton, the Secretary of State, said almost the same things that I said here,” Jagdeo said.
The policy of the US government on climate change was another area which President Jagdeo was also optimistic would lead to fruitful discussions with the Caribbean.
President Jagdeo said once the opportunity presents itself at the Summit, he would be advancing Guyana’s position in relation to climate change even though the chances of this happening are “tight.”
“With the US coming to the table with that good track record established by this new administration in the US, I think we have the possibility of a much better working environment and I hope that we can capitalize on that environment to solve some of the problems facing our region,” President Jagdeo said.
Only recently the Head of State met Alliance for Change (AFC) leader Raphael Trotman to highlight his position on the inclusion of the opposition in adopting a united front prior to the hosting of the Summit.
During the press conference, President Jagdeo said Trotman proposed to submit in writing some of his views to that he thinks should be included in the Summit. The president said even though he has not received the list, he is willing to accept it, providing that it includes recommendations for development.
The first Summit of the Americas was held in Miami in 1994. |
