President Donald Ramotar has stressed the need for there to be a united front on sustainability and climate change at the upcoming Rio + 20 Summit this month and for countries of the region to embrace integration as a means to lift the region out of poverty.
Speaking yesterday at the opening of the sparsely attended Twenty-Fourth Session of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee (CDCC) of ECLAC in the Guyana International Conference Centre, Ramotar said that the meeting is taking place at a time when the region is going through one of its most difficult times since independence five decades ago. He said further that the region has passed through a host of difficulties over the past five years, including fuel and food price crises.
The President said that the crises show how vulnerable the region is to factors that arise outside of its borders and beyond its control. He lauded the round table discussions for what he said were the practical decisions being taken. He called for more such meetings to take place to address the many issues that pose a challenge to the region.
The President noted that despite the crises, the region cannot hope to develop in isolation to the rest of the world. “That is clearly not possible because we heavily depend on international trade. This is a very strong case for integration in our region,” he said. “Only through greater integration would we become important players in international affairs,” he said. Ramotar spoke of the need for deepening relations with South America and noted that Brazil is the fifth most populous country in the world. However he said that the region must also solidify its relations with the north.
He made the point that development is not only economic but social and political and noted too that sustainable development cannot take place without political democracy. “The best way to ensure sustainable growth is to lift the quality of our people,” he said. Ramotar said too that poverty is debilitating to development and must be uprooted from the region.
With regard to climate change, Ramotar said that the science is accepted that human activities are having an impact on the planet, demonstrated by the worsening of the effects of natural disasters. “We have to change our relationship with nature, we have to be seen as being in harmony with the natural environment,” he said, adding that sustainability and development are not competing factors.
Secretary General of Caricom Irwin La Rocque said the Committee is meeting at a time when the Caribbean needs to consider new and innovative approaches to generating economic growth and transformation.
“I am, therefore, particularly pleased about the establishment of the Caribbean Development Roundtable which had its Second Meeting yesterday in order to address issues related to Macro-Economic Policy for Structural Transformation and Social Protection in Small States. The achievement and maintenance of macro-economic stability are critical to stimulating the growth process and for providing the right signals to influence economic actors. I therefore look forward to the Report from the Roundtable,” he said.
He said that given their inherent vulnerabilities, Caricom states continue to be significantly impacted by external developments, particularly the volatility of international prices of commodities, and uncertainties in international financial markets, and the possibility of another global recession occasioned by the Eurozone crisis.
“When associated with our susceptibility to the ravages of natural disasters, members of our Community have limited capacity to make the adjustments necessary to reduce their economic vulnerability,” he said. La Rocque added that as such, the macroeconomic policy framework is probably the major tool available to Caricom States to reduce vulnerability and build economic resilience over time.
He said it is important that any framework for economic stability and growth should also address social protection policies for the poor and vulnerable groups in the society. “We are ever conscious that the sustained economic growth and competitiveness which we seek will only result if we pay simultaneous attention to the social and environmental aspects of our development,” he said.
