By Starret D Greene
OAS Representative, St. Kitts and Nevis
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| Starret D Greene, OAS Representative, St. Kitts and Nevis |
For a about two days next month, the world’s attention will be focused on the Caribbean when the 34 Heads of State and Government of the independent countries of the Hemisphere meet for the 5th Summit of the Americas, in Trinidad and Tobago, April 17-19, 2009.
The leaders will be discussing a range of political, security, economic, social and environmental issues affecting the peoples of the Americas. It will be imperative that leaders agree on a set of workable solutions in their quest to address a number of problems and to respond to the multiplicity of needs of hundreds of millions of people throughout the Hemisphere.
In the context of the current global economic and financial crisis, the acute challenges facing the region and the growing threat to the sustainability of people’s livelihoods combine to raise the stakes for a productive and meaningful outcome of this forthcoming Summit.
President Barack Obama will likely be the main attraction at the Summit and many of the other Leaders will seek to get his attention. Notwithstanding America’s current financial and economic woes, it still remains the most powerful country in the Hemisphere. A face to face dialogue with the American President could go a long way to help narrow differences, heal old wounds and open the door for a new chapter in hemispheric relations.
For the leaders of the Caribbean, it is important that they use the opportunity of Obama’s presence in the region to talk to him frankly about the issues and interests that are of high priority for the people whom they represent. In this regard, the best approach should be to begin by informing the US President that the Caribbean countries earnestly seek a stronger, closer and mutually beneficial relationship with the United States of America. This is absolutely critical because the framework for making credible progress on issues such as preserving and strengthening the financial offshore sector, immigration, an emergency economic and financial stimulus package for the region, investment flows, trade, security and illegal trafficking in drugs, ammunition and small arms, should be established on the basis of a revamped, enlightened and progressive relationship.
It will fall on the shoulders of Caribbean Leaders to convince President Obama that their countries are desirous of turning a new page in US/Caribbean relations. They should also inform the President of the attributes and assets that the countries of the Caribbean can readily contribute to making the relationship stand on a firmer footing. For example, the region has a long history of political, economic, social and cultural ties with America.
These ties have been the enduring connection between the people of America and the people of the Caribbean, and the benefits that have derived from this longstanding interconnection and interaction have been immeasurable. Given this reality, our leaders should seek to impress upon the US President the importance of the Caribbean region to America as a Third Border, Canada being first and Mexico as second. They should assure President Obama of the willingness of the countries of the region to continue working jointly with the Government of United States to address, in a systematic way, a number of outstanding issues that have served only to strain relations. In addition, it will be important for our leaders to try and show better understanding about the concerns and interests of the United States and to demonstrate their eagerness to help the President and his Administration address them. After all, this is a partnership, and by its very nature it requires a high level of engagement, understanding, cooperation and collaboration among the partners.
Caribbean leaders need not present President Obama with a long list of problems and grievances. Instead, they should give priority to the restoration of a partnership built on trust, compromise, understanding and goodwill. Within the context of this restructured relationship, it is more likely that, in a number of instances, the region’s concerns and interests and those of the US will converge. When there is convergence of interests between the US and the Caribbean, it provides for the creation of fertile ground that will produce the seeds of progress and then give birth to the emergence of a strong, vibrant and productive relationship between them.
The 5th Summit of the Americas is an opportunity for Caribbean political leaders to pellucidly signal their willingness to reconstruct and redefine US/Caribbean relations into the twenty-first century. This they should do in the context of developing a well defined political, legal, economic, and social framework that will give rise to a workable and sustained partnership. If the basis of such a framework is mutual respect and understanding, commitment to achieving economic and social development, sustained cooperation in areas that buttress and preserve their security and protect the environment, then our leaders would have succeeded in framing the context and clarifying the premise upon which US/Caribbean relations are hinged. If this is achieved, US/Caribbean relations would be placed on the right track.
A mature and progressive relationship does not make one party subordinate to the other. Rather, it allows for the parties to deal with one another on the basis of mutual respect, understanding of each others needs, historical and cultural ties, convergence of interests and appreciation for each others independence. These are among a set of principles that should guide US/Caribbean relations and they are the basis on which our collective problems, concerns and needs should be addressed.
Caribbean leaders will have the opportunity to do so when they sit down with President Obama at the Summit in Trinidad and Tobago.
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