PM Drew wants deeper relationship with CARICOM Member States
Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Hon. Dr. Terrance Drew, wants closer relations with Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Member States.
At a press conference on 18 May in Basseterre, Prime Minister Drew called for strengthened relations, including in the area of trade within CARICOM, which, he said, will bring benefits to the people of the country.
Here are excerpts of the Prime Minister’s remarks at the press conference:
“We are part of a Caribbean Community that I have come to realise, many of us know very little about. That is why, following the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings held in Washington, DC, held in April, I met with Prime Minister Mottley of Barbados, and we have agreed to strengthen relations between our two countries and I expect to be in a position to make an announcement in that regard very shortly.
The Republic of Suriname has vast amounts of water and vast amounts of farming lands – yet we have no trade with Suriname – a CARICOM Member State that has offered land and water to our farmers.
The Cooperative Republic of Guyana is, and I quote: poised to become the world’s fourth-largest offshore oil producer, placing it ahead of Qatar, the United States, Mexico and Norway. I am not sure if you heard what I just said. Guyana is, and I quote: poised to become the world’s fourth-largest offshore oil producer, placing it ahead of Qatar, the United States, Mexico and Norway.
Trinidad and Tobago is manufacturing instant food. Dominica is in the advanced stages of developing a 120-megawatt geothermal electricity plant.
There certainly exists a real possibility for us to recalibrate our policies through our legislative agenda, to facilitate deeper trade relationships within the Caribbean in our pursuit to ensure that our citizens are benefiting from the best available prices of the things we are dependent on that we import and consume.
So we are engaging our citizens and now also the world. … Each time we engage the world and our region, there are tangible benefits for our people. We have to re-establish our relationships to ensure that we have the right partnerships to establish our Sustainable Island State. We cannot do it alone, but through partnerships we can definitely achieve it.”
Source: CARICOM TODAY