Caricom should not view regional interest in the ALBA grouping (Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas) as a threat to its growth, Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) Prime Minister Patrick Manning said adding there should be dialogue between the two bodies.
Many countries of the region have been gravitating to non- traditional alliances which Manning noted was brought on mostly by the current financial situation.
“The economic situation has had a lot to do with it and we will see more of these alliances in the world,” Manning said.
Speaking with reporters during the break in the 30th Regular Meeting of Caricom heads which concluded recently at the International Conference Centre, Liliendaal, Manning said the move by many countries toward the ALBA grouping is a new development which would have to be examined at the level of Caricom.
“I for one would advocate for dialogue between Caricom and Venezuela. I don’t think it will be an impediment for the continued development of the region,” Manning said.
The concept of ALBA was first articulated by former Cuban President Fidel Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in 2004, and Bolivia, Nicaragua, Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines are also members.
Late last month Antigua and Barbuda formalized their participation in the grouping.
Since its conception ALBA is said to have had positive impact on the lives of millions of citizens and residents in the participating territories and indeed the wider region.
“Life-altering and life-giving projects conceptualized and implemented through ALBA and the associated PetroCaribe Agreement have served to reduce poverty, illiteracy, morbidity and mortality in many countries, including Antigua and Barbuda,” Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer had declared and stated that the decision is part of his country asserting the fundamental right of a sovereign nation to engage in cooperative relations based on mutual respect.
Caricom countries who are also part of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) joined ALBA, spurring much debate on whether this could lead to eventual conflict with their role in Caricom.
Observers believe that Venezuela’s PetroCaribe Agreement with some countries in the region, has sort of undermined Trinidad’s prominence in the region, as it offers fuel to countries at concessionary rates and also on credit.
Trinidad is the largest producer of natural gas in the region.
Asked what he felt were possible areas that could be examined during the suggested dialogue, Manning said there just needed to be an understanding of the implications.
Asked whether he would meet with Venezuela, Manning said, “I am always prepared to meet with Venezuela,” adding that there was always a spirit of goodwill in the Western Hemisphere.
Economic integration and some form of political union have been the major reasons advanced by Manning for his country’s interest in joining the OECS in a political union which he believes is not in conflict with their obligations to Caricom.
Links and
alliances
Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said earlier this month that every country has a right to take care of its citizens and forge links and alliances it feels will bring desired benefits, as he defended his country’s membership of the ALBA grouping.
However he said Dominica remained committed to the integration movement and that joining other alliances did not conflict with this commitment.
But the Dominican prime minister refused to be tied down to answering every question with regard to his country’s decision to join the grouping.
“Dominica is not on the witness stand and will not subject itself as to why it is a member of ALBA. We gained our independence since 1978, giving us the right to determine our own destiny and we will not respond to any question about it,” he insisted, adding that his electorate were the persons most entitled to receive answers in this regard.
Meanwhile, Skerrit urged that care should be taken not to give an impression that forming alliances with certain regions is not desirable. To this end he pointed out that Caricom members are also part of the Organisation of American States (OAS), United Nations (UN) and some are also members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) while others are also part of the Alliance Organisation of Islamic States.
He dismissed perceptions that those joining the ALBA grouping had to be submissive to a total different ideology.
“What about the ideology…That you should take care of the poor, something wrong with that…that the oppressed you must speak on their behalf, and the homeless you open homes for them…and that the students who have no access to health and education you have schools and hospitals and nurses and doctors to care for them,” he posited.
He said it was unfortunate that some leaders would rather pay attention to big business and the rich than to help among us. “There are some countries very concerned about the poor, the marginalized and the voiceless. And that is what ALBA has been addressing,” he emphasized.
He further pointed to the implementation of programmes undertaken by the grouping in Caricom countries and noted that ALBA has been able to help those countries respond to some challenges.
“So we have to be careful about the ideological battle [if] in the process our people suffer because we are afraid to take the stance and to associate and mingle and to integrate. The only people who will really suffer are those who can’t go to the parliament and don’t have the resources to influence decision making in our countries,” Skerrit maintained.
He also told reporters that he believed that at this stage there should be interface with the union and for them to find areas in which they could work together.
He said the time has come for developing states in the world to bind together as much as possible to engage the world financial institutions and make them “change their ways.
“The world has changed but they have not. So if you can join with Latin American and African folks we have a louder voice… an alliance to advance our domestic programme and agenda. . .,” Skerrit concluded.