(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) We meet at a time of unprecedented global tumult. Before we are able to fully absorb the scope and implications of one social, economic, or natural disaster, another emerges, as if to test mankind’s ability to absorb and respond.
From the devastation inflicted on Haiti one year ago, to the socio-political tumult sweeping North Africa. From the earthquakes that have rocked Chile, New Zealand and elsewhere, to the financial crisis that almost toppled Wall Street, the rest of the United States, and the rest of the world. From the strife throughout the Middle East, to the “tsunami of zero-mercy” that tore across Japan, change – and rapid change – is now the order of the day. And the warp-speed technological capabilities of the 21st Century, combined with galloping globalization, bring these global crises – almost instantaneously – right to the Caribbean’s doors: whether in the form of economic, environmental, diplomatic, climactic or other consequences, they all find their way here.
Whatever CARICOM’s efforts in the past, then, and whatever our successes of yesteryear, this moment in world history, and this moment in Caribbean history, demands a special marshalling of our manpower, financial, diplomatic, and other resources to skillfully analyze, predict, plan, pre-empt, and respond – or not respond, to these respective and rapidly evolving international scenarios.
In Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, we are reminded that if one does not know where one wishes to go, any road will get you there.
In this era of economic, cultural, environmental, and other uncertainties, globally, therefore, we in CARICOM must maintain a clear vision of exactly where it is that we are trying to go – socially, economically, politically. And we must have the structures, the communications systems, and the built-in flexibility to enable us to adjust and adapt our strategies – not our principles, but our strategies – as the world around us changes. And it is this clarity of vision that will enable us, in the pursuit, and in the forging, and in the nurturing of relations with Third Countries, to protect the social, the economic, the environmental, and the other interests of our region.
We have spoken before, within CARICOM, of the principles that should shape and instruct our foreign policy conduct, among them being:
the development and preservation of our identity, way of life, democratic systems, and economic space;
[ii] ensuring the sustainability of Small States within the international community;
[iii] adherence to the principles of good governance;
[iv] maintenance of the peace, security and territorial integrity of the Community;
[v] adherence to the purposes and principles of the United Nations; and,
[vi] adherence to treaty commitments, among others.
What are our strengths, as a Region, as we face this sometimes daunting global scenario?
First of all, CARICOM, as we know, is not an entity held together by contrived linkages. Instead, the histories of our individual states are almost identical. Therein lies our strength: our commonality. And it is this commonality, along with our reputation as stable democracies, our highly literate populations, our respect for political freedoms and so on, that will be key to our ability to forge foreign policies that redound the benefit both of our component national parts, as well as to the broader region as a whole.
It is not only history and these other attributes that we share, however. And while they may be positive, another shared feature is the size of our respective nations. To many, we are, indeed, “micro-states”. And in the world of geo-strategic wrangling, being small is not always and advantage.
Indeed, it rarely is. We, as a region, then, must continue to put countervailing strategies in place, in order to compensate for any natural disadvantages associated to our size, as we pursue mutually beneficial relations with Third Countries. And it is my view that in the context of current world conditions, the constant strengthening of our region’s negotiating capabilities must be recognized as a crucial component of our region’s efforts to skillfully advance its interests. And this must be undergirded by rigorous training, because the challenges that we face demand it. And in addition to our heightened capabilities, well-coordinated approaches to foreign policy formulation must, as well, be considered sacrosanct.
The failure of the World Trade Organization to agree on a new category of Small Vulnerable Economies constitutes a major threat to the region’s socio-economic and political well-being.
The erosion of preferential market access in trading relations has caused many of us to make drastic steps: We certainly have in St. Kitts-Nevis. As you know, where we were forced, several years ago, to rapidly restructure our entire economy in order to avert social and economic disaster.
In addition, there are the challenges that countries like ours face as a result of the premature denial of concessional funding at the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the InterAmerican Development Bank. This constitutes a de facto penalty for our attempts to move our nations steadily forward, and this, too, must be addressed.
And then, there are the new resource burdens that we all must now bear due to the heightened security standards necessitated by the rise of global terrorism beyond our shores.
You, esteemed Colleagues, are perfectly familiar with these issues. Our task, then, is to forge the type of relations with Third Countries that would enable us to leverage mutually respectful, mutually beneficial relations into articulated support of, and advocacy for, these matters which are so important to our region, and which will have such a powerful bearing on the lives of those who elected and sent us here.
We have acknowledged in the past, the normal inclination of nations, in times of economic vulnerability, to focus more intently on their own social and economic well-being, as opposed to the broader interests of the regions to which they may belong. Even as we strive to enhance the socio-economic prospects of our own nations during this period of global turbulence, however, let us, as a region, also strive to identify and seize those opportunities that lead to meaningful advances at the regional level as well. Because, as we have been saying with increasing urgency, we in this region must renew and enhance our efforts in the area of Foreign Policy Coordination. And in this, the input and recommendations of COFCOR is key.
There must be an ongoing examination of the principles, practices, and mechanisms via which we coordinate our approach to Foreign Policy, in the same way that there needs to be a review of the mechanisms by which we engage Third Countries and Groups of Countries. As we do so, we must pay particular attention to our bilateral relations, framework agreements [including Memoranda of Understanding and Coooperation Agreements]; the regular scheduling of high-level meetings; the joint commission of similar mechanisms; and the accreditation of plenipotentiary representatives.
The challenges that our region face are real: In addition to the list already enumerated, there is the reality of increasing xenophobia. There is the matter of global corporate attempts [not always obvious or openly admitted], to secure, and place in private hands, fresh water sources from every continent – the “oil” of the twenty-first century.] There is the issue of illegal drugs and weapons. There is global warming.
All of these challenges demand, Esteemed Colleagues, exactly what we have already committed ourselves to: serious introspection and self-analysis as a region, so that we would be able to effectively chart the type of course that we must, in order to preserve the environmental, socio-political, and economic integrity of both our individual member states, and our broader Caribbean community.
Co-ordination will assume an increasingly important role in the months and years ahead: Co-ordination in the form of joint representation……co-ordination in order to continue the adoption of joint positions on matters of regional and international import……co-ordination within the context of non-Caribbean inter-governmental organizations……..
We are fortunate to already have in place a number of foreign policy coordinating mechanisms and structures: the Bureau of the Conference of Heads of Government, the Bureau of the COFCOR; the regular and informal meetings of COFCOR; consultations among senior officials of CARICOM member states and the Secretariat; caucuses of CARICOM ambassadors in Washington, New York, Ottawa, Geneva, and Brussels. These we must continue to utilize and build upon, while also striving to strengthen existing ties with members of the Caribbean diaspora whose numerical, financial, political or other strengths beyond the Caribbean, when strategically applied could redound to the benefit of the region from which they, our nationals, originated.
The advantages of our establishing mutually beneficial, mutually respectful relations with like-minded nations in both the industrialized and the non-industrialized world can be significant, as we strive to develop our resources; preserve the security of the Community; and expand our economic space. In this era of rapid technological changes, our relations with nations with which we can partner as we strive to develop our own technological capabilities can also be significantly advanced by the coordinated regional foreign policy orientation of which we often speak – as are the objectives, positions, and initiatives that we, as a region, have already identified as being key to our prosperity, stability, human resource development, and national security.
Let the pursuit of these goals, then, shape and guide both our bilateral as well as our multilateral relations. And let us, within this region, find ways, via collaboration, coordination, and ongoing communication amongst ourselves, to advance precisely those national and regional interests that we have identified as key, and which, properly pursued would provide the type of momentum that we, as policy makers, desire to see not only in terms of the process, but far more importantly, in terms of the results. This is an important undertaking on which we have embarked today, and I thank you.
