http://www.kaieteurnewsgy.com
President Jagdeo, other CARICOM leaders hail outcome of Commonwealth
summit
... EU year-end deadline for trade agreement likely to be extended
President Bharrat Jagdeo was among Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
delegates
that appeared very pleased at the end of the Commonwealth Heads of
Government Summit (CHOGM) in Kampala , Uganda .
According to the Caribbean Media Corporation, the incoming Chairman of
the
grouping, Prime Minister of the Bahamas , Hubert Ingraham said that the
meeting was useful and productive.
"We talked about the need for Britain and Canada to use their influence
on
our behalf which they both agreed to do to get the World Bank and other
major international institutions to refocus their assistance and their
support, not only for development, but also for environmental matters,"
Ingraham told regional reporters at the summit.
The St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister, Dr Denzil Douglas also described
the
talks as "exceptionally fruitful" while expressing optimism that the
year-end deadline for completion of trade talks with Europe would be
extended.
He said the concession was outlined during a meeting with the British
Prime
Minister Gordon Brown and other leading UK government officials.
"We have a number of African countries that have supported us in this
cause
and I think we have been able to impact upon the British," Douglas said.
While not in a position to say exactly how long an extension would be
granted, he said leaders were told that there is going to be a call for
a
delay and for a little more time to be granted.
Apart from trade, Jamaica 's Prime Minister, Bruce Golding took the
lead in
appealing to the United Kingdom government for a fresh approach to the
challenges facing heavily indebted middle-income countries in the
region.
"We found him very understanding; he, himself, expressed grave concern
about
these issues," said Golding of the meeting with the British Prime
Minister.
He also sought to make it clear that the region was not asking for debt
relief, although he said it was something countries would welcome if it
was
made available to them.
"Even accessing multilateral financing at concessionary terms, we do not
qualify, because they say we are not poor enough but even though we may
be
classified as not poor enough we are so burdened with debt so that, in
many
instances, we are spending even less on critical services like health
and
education, than some of the poorer countries who are given special
dispensation," the Jamaica leader explained.
The theme of this year's CHOGM was "Transforming Commonwealth
Societies" and
as Trinidad and Tobago prepares to host the next biennial summit in
2009,
Prime Minister Patrick Manning said he felt enriched, owing to the
Kampala
discussions on climate change and diversity.
"We are very grateful, very pleased that we had an opportunity to
participate in these most significant discussions," said Manning, in a
statement delivered at the closing session of the Uganda meeting, which
was
also attended by the leaders of Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas,
Belize,
Dominica, Grenada and Guyana.
During the meeting, international attention focused on Guyana 's forest
protection initiative, emphasising that national sovereignty and control
over the rainforest will be protected.
President Bharrat Jagdeo called on Heads of Government and global
business
leaders to recognise that the global threat from climate change requires
sustained attention from the world's most senior political and corporate
decision-makers.
He also emphasised that developing countries must ensure that their
voices
are heard at the upcoming negotiations on a successor agreement to the
Kyoto
Protocol on Climate Change, which will take place in Bali , Indonesia in
December.
Forest offer
Addressing Heads of Government, about 500 business leaders and
government
officials during the meeting, the President told the audience of Guyana
's
willingness to identify mechanisms whereby the country's rainforest,
which
is the size of England , can be deployed in the global battle against
climate change.
The President emphasised that rainforest countries could not be
expected to
sacrifice their economic development in order to combat climate change
on
behalf of the world. However, he said that he believed that ways could
be
found to balance sustainable forestry management practices with
ground-breaking initiatives to support the global battle against climate
change.
Speaking afterwards, the President emphasised that Guyana 's offer will
not
involve the ceding of sovereignty over Guyana 's territory.
He said that the identification of the specific mechanisms for
deploying the
rainforest will take time, and that all ideas will be considered,
whether
proposed by domestic or international stakeholders.
However, he indicated his expectation that the most sustainable
long-term
solution will involve the engagement of the global capital markets.
The President said that a market-based approach is more likely to devise
long-term workable solutions.
According to the President, these solutions will not involve the
termination
of economic activities within the forest - these will continue to be
supported, provided that they are carried out in a manner which is
compatible with sustainable forestry management practices.
His climate change initiative that he presented at the Commonwealth
Business
Forum was the same climate change initiative that he first unveiled in
his
speech at the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Finance Ministers'
Meeting in Georgetown in October 2007; and which generated considerable
media attention.
No comments:
Post a Comment