BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - REGIONAL Ministers of Government have welcomed the recent bipartisan passage of the US-Caribbean Strategic Engagement Act of 2016 (H.R. 4939), which seeks to develop a long-term strategy to strengthen ties between the United States Government and the Caribbean region.
The law, which was signed by outgoing US President Barack Obama back in December 2016, received full support of the regional Ministers at the recently-concluded 39th Meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Council of Ministers.
According to a statement coming out of the meeting held in Georgetown, Guyana, the Ministers noted “with satisfaction the overwhelming bipartisan support received in both Houses of Congress for the Act and thank its sponsors, Representative Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, former Chair of the Committee, for their tireless efforts”.
The Government Ministers described the Act as being both “timely and significant” while commending the US Administration for its proactive and collaborative approach to engaging the Caribbean region.
“We believe that the multi-year strategy mandated by this Act will engender increased interaction between the Caribbean and the United States, especially in the areas of security, trade, economic development, energy, education and diaspora engagement. We are keen to urgently advance dialogue on the specific interests of the Caribbean region,” the statement read.
The US-Caribbean Strategic Engagement Act of 2016, according to congress.gov, Sec. 2 seeks to “increase engagement with the governments of the Caribbean region, the Caribbean diaspora community in the United States, and the private sector and civil society in both the United States and the Caribbean”.
Additionally, Sec. 3 highlights that “the Department of State shall submit to Congress a multi-year strategy for U.S. engagement with the Caribbean region that:
• identifies State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) efforts to prioritize U.S. policy towards the Caribbean region;
• broadens State Department and USAID outreach to the Caribbean diaspora community in the United States to promote their involvement in Caribbean economic development and citizen security;
• outlines an approach to partner with Caribbean governments to improve citizen security, reduce illicit drug trafficking, strengthen the rule of law, and improve the effectiveness of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI);
• encourages efforts of the region to implement regional and national strategies that improve Caribbean energy security;
• improves diplomatic engagement with Caribbean governments; and
• assists Caribbean countries in diversifying their economies, reducing free trade and investment barriers, and supporting the training and employment of persons in marginalized communities.”
The Ministers are looking forward to continued working relationship with the US Congress and the new President-elect, Donald Trump, on further strengthening of US-Caribbean relations in light of the good working relationship with previous administrations.
