ST GEORGE’S, Grenada – Barbados’ Prime Minister Freundel Stuart says regional governments have recommitted themselves to the process of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy (CSME).
The CSME allows for the free movement of goods, service, skills and labour across the region and is regarded as the Caribbean’s response to a changing global environment.
Stuart, who chaired a meeting of the Prime Ministerial Subcommittee on the CSME on Thursday, ahead of the CARICOM Inter-sessional summit that opens here today, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that despite expressions of dissatisfaction and despair during the meeting, the leaders had decided to continue the process of developing a single market and economy.
“I was quite pleased with the very frank exchanges we had on the various that touches and concerns the single market and economy.
“I am happy to report that there has been no falling off in enthusiasm for the regional project; that all of the leaders and all of the delegations recommitted themselves to the pursuit of the regional vision and to the realisation of the objectives of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy.
Stuart cited the economic constraints facing some regional countries and the unstable global economic situation as some of the reasons why the integration process has been slow.
However, he said, too often the lack of progress is what is being emphasized as opposed to the gains recorded within the regional integration process.
“I think . . . we tend to mark ourselves fairly hard on these things and we tend to accentuate what we have not achieved, or where we have failed rather than focusing on the things that we have achieved.
“We have made some genuine strides in the CSME and, of course, in the regional integration movement,” he added.
Former Commonwealth Secretary General and a former regional trade negotiator Sir Shridath Ramphal, who is attending the inter-sessional summit as an advisor to Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo, agrees that progress has been made with the CSME but adds that it is now in a state of comatose and needs to be awaken.
He says though the people of the region, including Guyana and Belize, see themselves as belonging to one region, they do not behave as on people.
“I don’t think the ordinary people of the region are apart; I think they are together. They have an identity; they regard themselves as West Indians but we’re not behaving as West Indians,” he told CMC.
Sir Shridath said he believed the people of the region were looking to their leaders to further deepen the integration process, and he advised against playing the blame game. He said there was need for a collective approach by the regional leaders to deal with the matters confronting the region both at home and abroad. (CMC)
