President Jagdeo leaves for Summit today

Apr 16, 2009 News

As the leaders of CARICOM have a series of engagements before the formal opening of the Summit of the Americas tomorrow, President Bharrat Jagdeo is hoping that they can focus on the very concrete issues or initiatives that can emerge out of the long list of pledges made in the declaration which would be issued at the end of the summit.

At a press conference yesterday at the Office of the President, Mr. Jagdeo said that the declaration has already been negotiated.
It is titled, “Securing our citizens future by promoting human prosperity, energy security and environmental sustainability.”

“I hope that our presence in Trinidad and Tobago would add value to the process and would allow us to select just a few of these initiatives that we can actually implement.
I think that would be the most useful use of our time,” President Jagdeo told members of the media.
The 66 paragraphs in the declaration include a number of pledges such as nutrition, health, housing, education, fighting violence, terrorism and crime, promoting human rights, tackling poverty, advancing economies, diversifying energy sources and fighting climate change, among many others.

According to President Jagdeo, the region has a greater chance of succeeding at the summit, given that the situation now is much different from the time the last summit was held largely because of the enlightened approach of President Barack Obama on many of the issues up for discussion.

The Head of State added that he does not have very high expectations, but is only hoping since there will be so many countries participating in the summit and every country wants to add their pet area.
In this regard, he explained that he is not sure if he will be able to present his case on climate change, as there will be many sessions at the summit.
“It is going to be tight, but any opportunity I get I will squeeze it in,” President Jagdeo said.