Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders have ended three-days of a “productive” summit in St Lucia on Friday night agreeing on a new foreign policy direction that would allow the 15-member trading bloc to establish deeper relations with countries other than its traditional allies in Europe and North America.
Host Prime Minister and CARICOM Chairman, Dr Kenny Anthony told reporters that it was imperative for the region to embark on the new foreign policy co-ordination given the “profound geopolitical and geo-economic changes taking place in the global environment and their implications for the Community’s external relations and its economic and developmental well-being.
”Heads of Government emphasised that foreign policy co-ordination is not only a guiding principle for CARICOM, but it is a necessary tool to achieve effectiveness in foreign policy outcomes.”
The regional countries have said they will now look to deepen their relations with the so-called BRICS countries, namely, Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa and China while not pushing aside the traditional partners such as Europe, the United States and Canada.
But he said the region is concerned at new European Union development policy which seeks to “alter the dynamics of the relationship between the EU and the ACP (African Caribbean and Pacific) and also has the intention to limit severely the level of grant funding to middle income countries which include many Caribbean states.
“They noted that such funding had been instrumental in many development projects in our region and welcomed the support of the ACP Secretary General (Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, who addressed the leaders) in efforts to encourage the EU to reconsider its position.”
Anthony said that the regional leaders, who met for almost two days in closed door caucus, had also examined the global economic and financial situation and its impact on the Caribbean and “agreed that the major focus at this time should be on economic growth and development.
“We identified tourism, agriculture and construction as economic sectors that offered prospects for early resuscitation of economic growth,” he said, adding “we think the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) needs to structure its lending products and processes in such a manner that they would assist in efforts at growth and sustainable development.” (CMC)
