'No need to engage US as beggars', CARICOM technocrats urge
Published:Wednesday | May 18, 2022 | 1:55 PM
The leaders of CARICOM are being encouraged not to approach the United States as beggars at next month's meeting of the Americas in Los Angeles.
That recommendation was made in a leaked discussion paper prepared by technocrats at the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat for today's start of a two-day meeting of the region's foreign ministers.
"There is no need for CARICOM countries to engage with the United States either as supplicants or with a willingness to accept whatever the United States is willing to hand out," the analysts advised in their candid assessment of the relationship of the hemisphere and region's relationship with the Biden administration.
The internal advisers in Georgetown were very critical of President Joe Biden's approach to the region, noting that after more than a year in office, his hemispheric policy "still lacks clarity".
"There is much lost ground to be made up regarding US relations with the hemisphere, following the bully-boy tactics of the Trump administration and President Biden's failure, in his first few months in office in 2021, to respond to appeals from Latin American and Caribbean countries for much-needed anti-Covid vaccines. In the absence of the United States, China, India and Russia responded with alacrity," the secretariat's analysis said.
It said for fairness, the Biden administration did eventually step up with vaccine donations to Caribbean countries, through the COVAX facility, and bilaterally.
Despite the lack of major movements, the Secretariat said CARICOM needs to go to the summit, "armed with a strategy for enhanced engagement and prepared to speak with one voice" rather than as beggars.
"Even in an extreme asymmetrical relationship such as the US-CARICOM one, there is a convergence of interests. While size matters, numbers also matter. CARICOM's 14 votes in international organisations are an important source of support for US positions," the paper said.
It added that oil and gas discoveries in Guyana and promising results in Suriname, along with the stability in the region, are critical for US security and economic interests and CARICOM should use these to its advantage.
"CARICOM should therefore approach all engagements with the United States as opportunities to negotiate a more equitable relationship," the discussion paper said, noting the US' trade surplus with the region that was valued at approximately US$4.5 billion in 2021.
According to the CARICOM Secretariat, CARICOM-US relations are due for a reset and the summit presents the "perfect opportunity" for this although it noted that up to May 17, it seemed unlikely Biden would meet with regional leaders in the margins of the talks.
"Against the backdrop of benign neglect of CARICOM by the United States, perhaps due to the perception that the community is small, stable and relatively prosperous, there are signs of a growing awareness in Washington that Caribbean issues and vulnerabilities require greater attention," the document said.
The analysts say some of the pressing issues that demand greater US cooperation and leadership include: economic growth, poverty reduction and income inequality; energy security and the transition to renewable energy; education and human development; combating climate change, transnational organised crime and corruption.
The summit, the largest gathering of political leaders in the hemisphere, will be held from June 6-10.
Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us @onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.