Forging closer relations

THE Outgoing Chairman of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) says there is need for modification and transformation of the region’s modus operandi, considering the current circumstances regionally and globally.

According to the Hon. Sir Louis Straker, islands are already challenged by a plethora of issues that hinder development such as high indebtedness, natural disasters partly due to climate change, youth unemployment, crime, high rates of adolescent pregnancy, non-communicable diseases, scarcity of concessionary financing and decreasing overseas development assistance.

He said these issues threaten citizens’ well-being and are further aggravated by transnational organised crime, due to the availability of small arms and light weapons manufactured aboard and the illicit trafficking of drugs across the region’s borders.

Sir Louis, who is also the Minister of Foreign Affairs of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, was at the time addressing the opening of the 20th Meeting of COFCOR, held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on Thursday.

He stressed that serious consideration must be given to reviewing the revised strategy for the co-ordination of the Foreign policies of CARICOM States, which were agreed to 15 years ago.

“While the guiding principles of the Community’s foreign policy still hold, new international developments warrant the revision of the strategy,” he pointed out.

“Consideration should be given to the following when forging our new path – the US foreign policy thrust; the increasing anti-regionalism sentiment that has led to Brexit; challenges with accessing development assistance and the move to graduate the region and the classification of our Member States to middle-income countries without consideration of our vulnerabilities; challenges for CARICOM to implement the regional integration agenda.”

He also urged the Foreign Ministers to create an atmosphere that enables collaboration, co-operation and strategic partnerships with all sectors; civil society; national, regional and international partners.

“Our focus should be on re-visiting and strengthening our relations with traditional partners, reaching out to new allies with an aim towards regional and national developments. We must utilise effectively our existing membership and organisations such as the Organisation of American States, United Nations, CARIFORUM, Association of Caribbean States, even the Commonwealth – for the achievement of a common goal in exploring new avenues of development.

“We must tap into the potential of our diaspora using their remittances for economic development of our countries. The current threat of Correspondent Banking facilities negatively affects these remittances that go to us... Last year, St. Vincent and the Grenadines received approximately $32 million in remittances based on a World Bank Report. This clearly demonstrates the significant impact it has on our economy, therefore we must employ greater effort in harnessing the diaspora for development,” he said.

Handing over Chairmanship to Senator the Hon. Maxine McClean, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Barbados, Sir Louis reiterated and emphasised the importance of CARICOM unity.

“We are cognisant that the road that lies ahead will require much from us, hence let us work together and perform to obtain further development of our region, to new strategic foreign policy focus which addresses the challenges of the paradigm shift of the new international order,” he said. (TL)