Expresses confidence that Community in good hands
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IT was probably a bitter-sweet moment for His Excellency Bharrat Jagdeo when he addressed his counterparts at the Closing Ceremony of the 32nd Meeting of the CARICOM Heads of Government; for it was the last time he would be addressing the body as Guyana’s President.
President Jagdeo was selected to serve as President on August 11, 1999 and subsequently elected for two consecutive terms which would end sometime this year. Because Guyana’s Constitution dictates that a person can serve in the presidency for only two terms, Jagdeo’s stint would shortly come to an end.
The 32nd Meeting of the CARICOM Heads of Government – which was held in St. Kitts – concluded on Monday, July 5 and, in what some consider his ‘swan song’, Jagdeo expressed that the opportunity he has been afforded to address his colleagues and offer an official goodbye was one that he welcomed.
“I am never good at saying goodbye but I really welcome this opportunity to talk to my colleagues whom I have worked with in this capacity for several years. I know it is a unique opportunity, maybe not because I am leaving but because many of those who have departed prior to this moment have never really had this opportunity to say a proper good bye to their colleagues and friends. We’ve had our brother, David Thompson, who tragically departed without being able to do this and many others through their fortunes or misfortunes in the electoral process had to depart, and some in an untimely manner. So, this is really special for me.”
President Jagdeo made known his confidence that the fate of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is in capable hands.
“And I leave with a strong sense that the fate of this region rests in safe hands. I’ve worked with people around this table. I’ve seen the commitment they have to this process and I know, even when we falter, we’re not going to lose sight of the goal that has been laid out by our forefathers and that we struggle to achieve…”
He explained, however, that for the Caribbean Community to remain a viable entity, those that have the power to do so must vigorously defend and uphold our identity and craft their thinking in a way that allows the region to effectively compete with the rest of the world.
“I just ask that we fiercely defend who we are and fiercely recognise how far we have come and how special we are as a people. No other region in this world has been forged from so many struggles.
Therefore, we are special and the achievements we have made are magnified because of how far we have come from and we must never ever forget that. And because we understand struggle, because we are focused on our people, we have a lot not only to give to our region (but) to the rest of the world.
“We are small, relatively small, excluding Haiti…but we have always packed a punch bigger than our size in world affairs, and I hope that we will continue to do so. But if we are to do so, we have to keep our thinking fresh, we have to constantly explore that the world trends don’t leave us behind, because things move so rapidly and the budding sectors of yesteryear are not there anymore and they don’t offer bright opportunities for the future.
“So, if we don’t remain fresh in our thinking and creative in the way that we try to safeguard posterity, we may lose that historic advantage. We are losing it already in cricket; we don’t want to lose it in the battle of ideas and in the intellectual field…So, I want to urge my colleagues to constantly focus on that.”
