(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The newly accredited Ambassador of Japan to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), His Excellency Tatsuaki Iwata, on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 noted his country’s consideration of the adverse effects of the global financial and economic crises on the Region.
After he presented his letters of credence to the Secretary-General of the CARICOM His Excellency Edwin Carrington, at the headquarters of the CARICOM Secretariat, Georgetown, Guyana, Ambassador Iwata stated that Japan had begun to take steps to alleviate the burden of the crises on the developing countries including those of CARICOM.
In the first instance, he said that Government of Japan made an effort to stimulate its economy through expanding the budgetary expenditures although Japan has already had a large fiscal deficit. Another strategy Ambassador Iwata said Japan undertook internally was to strengthen the role of the Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) for financing trade.
In this regard, he said that collaboration among JBIC, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) would be useful for bilateral cooperation which would see the Region emerging out of the crisis, successfully.
At the international level, Ambassador Iwata said that Japan responded to the global financial and economic crises by expanding its contribution to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to the tune of US $100 billion dollars, which accounted for almost 40 per cent of the current loan capacity of the Fund. He stated Japan had also advocated for the reform of the institution, which has been taking place.
Citing another illustration of his country’s support of the Region as it deals with the global economic shock, he said that Japan had duly represented CARICOM’s concerns for restructuring of the global financial architecture at the G20 London Summit in April 2009.
In his remarks, H.E. Carrington noted that the current developments at the global level were threatening the very survival of the small vulnerable economies of the Member States of CARICOM. He expressed the Community’s appreciation for Japan’s support and its transmission of CARICOM’s concerns at the G20 London Summit.
However, he stated that the true impact of the crisis was now being felt, “in almost every sector, at every level and by every Member State of the Community”
“Since then it has become clear to us in CARICOM that the global economic and financial crisis has been deepening in intensity,” Secretary-General Carrington said.
He stated that the Community was determined to continue to make its position on the financial crisis heard, and welcomed the opportunity of the United Nations Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development, from 24-26 June, 2009, at the UN Headquarters in New York, USA.
Secretary-General Carrington said that it would give CARICOM Heads of Government a valuable opportunity to advance the dialogue with their counterparts and other representatives of the international community, as they seek to identify viable solutions and agree on a financial architecture that will benefit both developing and developed nations alike.
