(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) President of the United States of America Barack Obama said a key focus of the CARICOM-US Summit would be to discuss issues related to energy. He said the CARICOM Region had some of the highest energy costs in the world and noted that Caribbean countries were particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
“We have to act now. This is an example of large countries and small countries have to work together because without collective actions we are not going to be able to address these challenges,” he stated.
The US President was speaking Thursday afternoon at the opening ceremony for the Summit which was held at the University of the West Indies, Mona, in Jamaica.
He also announced that there would be new partnerships established including a new fund to mobilize private investment and clean energy projects in the Caribbean and in Central America. He said he was confident that great strides would be made in relation to the issue in both the long and short terms, given the commitment of the CARICOM and US governments.
President Obama further identified deepening cooperation as it relates to economic growth as a topic to be addressed. He said making sure that their governments were open and transparent and upholding the human rights of citizens and combating transnational crime through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, were also on the agenda.
Speaking about the youth, President Obama said wherever the spirit, innovation and boldness of youth was harnessed and channelled in a positive direction, those countries would be successful and the future would be bright. He said he was looking forward to a town hall meeting that would be hosted with CARICOM youth later on and was very interested in building some concrete programmes that gave them the kind of education and training that would ultimately help to benefit CARICOM Member States and by extension other countries of the world.
President Obama is currently on a working visit to Jamaica and has engaged in a number of activities since his arrival including a visit to the iconic Bob Marley Museum. He has also engaged in bilateral talks with the Jamaican Government and following the CARICOM-US Summit at the University of the West Indies, Regional Headquarters, he will attend a wreath-laying ceremony at the National Heroes Park.
He leaves Jamaica Thursday evening for Panama to attend the Seventh Summit of the Americas.
