ST.JOHN'S Antigua, April 16th, 2012 -- Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda the Hon. W. Baldwin Spencer along with other CARICOM leaders held a meeting with Felipe de Jesus Calderon, President of the Republic of Mexico on the margins of the Sixth Summit of the Americas being held in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia to discuss a wide range of issues including, mechanisms for further bilateral and hemispheric cooperation and strategies to prevent further financial fallout from the global economic crisis.
One of the key issues that the Prime Minister discussed with his counterpart was the need to develop a Plan of Action to address poverty and to avert a further decline of the economies in the Caribbean. “ There is need for immediate intervention to address the negative effects being experienced as a result of the financial crisis, the Prime Minister said. “ Without direct intervention, there is increased risk of economic decline and concomitantly social disintegration. We cannot sit by and allow our people and our economies to suffer,” the Prime Minister concluded.
Prime Minister Spencer and his colleagues also sought the assistance of the Mexican President in raising the concerns of Antigua and Barbuda and the CARICOM sub-region at the G20. Some CARICOM Member States are characterized as middle income by most of the G20 countries and are therefore not able to access certain sources of financing.
“CARICOM Member States are not members of the G20, we must therefore rely on our allies to bring our issues of concern to the wider G20 membership and the Government of Mexico has readily agreed to assist in this regard”, the Prime Minister said.
Accompanying the Prime Minister at the Summit of the Americas are Her Excellency Dame Deborah-Mae Lovell, Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the Organization of American States and Ms. Ann-Marie Layne, Minister Counselor.
The two day Summit is being held under the theme “ Connecting the Americas: Partners for Prosperity.”
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