CARICOM has lost momentum-Jagdeo

Jan 27, 2011 News

– Guyana to improve relations with new growth prospects

President Bharat Jagdeo is not too optimistic about CARICOM, stating that the regional integration movement has lost momentum and Guyana is well poised to improve relations with other growth prospects for its survival.
Speaking to officers of the Guyana Defence Force, Jagdeo, outlining part of Guyana’s immediate development strategy, said that internal considerations in many CARICOM countries have forced regional governments to curtail their commitment to regional integration.
CARICOM was viewed as the major vehicle to propel growth in a region comprising small island-states in an increasingly globalised world.
However, according to Jagdeo, Guyana will have to focus more on improving partnerships outside of CARICOM.
“Many people ask me what will happen in CARICOM. CARICOM would still be very important for Guyana but frankly speaking CARICOM has lost momentum for a while now, for the past several years,” the Guyanese President said.
According to Jagdeo many regional countries had been devastated by the global financial crisis, losing large chunks of their income.
“We really have to rebuild the momentum in CARICOM,” Jagdeo said.
He pointed out that in light of significant shifts in the balance of global growth, Guyana will do well to improve its relationships with developing countries and reduce dependence on the developed world if it is to enhance its prosperity.
He argued that no longer is the developed world the engine of growth, since figures will show that it is the developing countries that are showing the most growth.
“What is interesting to note, is that there is a shift in dynamism in the global economy.” He explained that a recent report revealed that the developed world is lagging behind in terms of growth.
Jagdeo stated that according to the report, only three cities in the developing world were among the top 30 cities in terms of dynamism, prior to the world financial crisis.
However the report showed that during last year, 27 cities in the developing world are on that list compared with only three from the developed world.
Jagdeo said that projections show that this year the developing world would grow by 6.5 percent on average, that is including China and India which are powering global growth, and the developed world by 2.5 percent.
“Future sources of growth will come from the developing world and therefore it is imperative for Guyana to develop relations with the new growth prospects that we have-those countries that are going to be the most dynamic ones, driving global economic growth in the future,” the Guyanese President said.
He urged the army officers to also look at extending Guyana’s increasing reach, in terms of forging further links with Latin American countries, a trend, he said, that should be encouraged.
According to Jagdeo, Guyana has to take advantage of the critical position it finds itself in this year- holding the presidency of UNASUR, a grouping of South American countries.
Guyana, an English-speaking country, is the smallest territory so far to head the grouping, which includes developing powerhouses such as Brazil, Venezuela and Peru.
“We now speak on behalf of the entire south America. So this is major and we have to make full use of it,” Jagdeo stated.

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