(Trinidad Guardian) – Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley addressed the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles on Friday and expressed hope that respect and regard would be afforded to all states within the hemisphere, including Cuba and Venezuela.
“The path of exclusion and sanctions has not been effective in the past and has brought us no closer to the goal of an Americas which is equitable for the ordinary citizens of our hemisphere no matter where they live,” Rowley told leaders while speaking of the final day proceedings.
Rowley also pleaded for the Americas’ attention to Haiti and alluded to the war in Ukraine.
He said, “As the national leaders of countries and citizens in a hemisphere that has withstood the ravages of a global pandemic during the past 27 months, this 9th Summit of the Americas provides a platform of opportunity and promise that should not be missed.
“The theme of this Summit: Sustainability, Resilience and Equity, appropriately defines exactly what is required if the people of the Americas are to fully benefit from the political commitments that we will make here in Los Angeles.”
“In the amplified voices at Summit Forums,” he said, “the imperative of building a future that is democratically secure, clean and green, fair and free, inclusive and innovative, resilient and renewable, smart and sustainable, is clear and cannot be ignored.”
Rowley added, “After more than two years and counting of a costly, extraordinarily global, dangerous and infectious public health emergency, and most recently during the outbreak of unjustified state-on-state war, the interdependence of our lives and livelihoods across this hemisphere and beyond, has been fully unmasked. We must all play our part if we are to rise to the occasion, one that is fully anticipated and warranted.”
He said in T&T, the government has shaped and is sharpening the focus of people via its National Development Strategy 2016-2030, aimed at achieving increased sustainability and resilience.
“Economic, pandemic and security challenges make this a steep climb but we persevere in the hope of preserving the gains that we have made whilst working towards further improvement in the quality of life of our people.”
He detailed areas which have been given the highest priority ranging from achieving economic recovery and sustainability for building lives and livelihoods to fostering citizen safety.
He added that a people-centred National Sustainable Development policy framework and strategy enabled T&T to join the countries of the Americas, to contribute to the political commitments adopted at the Summit on democratic governance, digital transformation, health and resilience, a sustainable green future, and equitable clean energy transition.
“By making and keeping these political commitments, we can and must empower our hemisphere’s civil society, private sector, women, youth, and other vulnerable groups that have historically been marginalised and discriminated against, including Persons of African Descent and Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, to achieve their aspirations for a Sustainable, Resilient and Equitable Future.”
He said he firmly believed, “The greatest opportunity that this Summit provides for delivering on these political commitments to our citizens, is the opportunity to rebuild trust, first in democracy, then among democracies, and ultimately within democracies, in our Hemisphere of countries with diverse histories, economies, polities and societies.”
He said he can report that T&T is a strong and stable democracy, “We have not been without our own challenges from time to time.”
“We who have consistently been included in each of the Nine Summits of the Americas, held since 1994, are the smallest country in this hemisphere to have hosted the Summit of Americas – the 5th Summit in 2009. We know that small does not mean insignificant.”
“We know that the practice of democracy is neither a cloistered virtue nor an automatic one shape fits all. We say that if we are all to end up in that same safe place the journey must not be truncated and we may have to help some of our brothers and sisters along the way but we must never abandon them.”
“We are convinced that our inclusion in this process and the respect and regard that have been accorded to our sovereign equality, have contributed meaningfully to our strength and stability as a democracy and a beautiful twin-island Republic. What we wish for ourselves, we wish for others, and as a proud member of the Caribbean Community, we hope that such respect and regard would be afforded to all states within our hemisphere, including Cuba and Venezuela,” he said alluding to the ineffectiveness of exclusion and sanctions.
